queen cell questions

[chickenwing654]

Hi,
Think my queen is gone in one of my new colonies.  Last checked hive (new this spring) about 10 days ago and was doing good (saw queen) .  Today no new brood, and had six capped queen cells in middle of frames.

Took three cells out, and left three in the hive.   Correct me if I am wrong, but 16 days for a queen to emerge from queen cell, plus or minus 1 day. Is this from the day eggs  was laid, or from when capped?  Trying to estimate when it should hatch out.   Also doesn't it change coloring when getting close to hatching?

thanks
Tazz

[little john]

Correct me if I am wrong, but 16 days for a queen to emerge from queen cell, plus or minus 1 day. Is this from the day eggs  was laid, or from when capped?  Trying to estimate when it should hatch out.   Also doesn't it change coloring when getting close to hatching?

Hi Tazz - the figures I work to (for a Queen, obviously) are:

Eggs Laid - day 0
Eggs Hatch - day 3-4
Cell Capped - day 8 (+/- 1)
Emergence - day 16 (+/- 1)
Laying - day 28 (+/- 5)

Estimating when a queen will emerge is always tough if you stumble across finished Q/C's, as you won't know for sure when they were capped ...

Yes - the ends of the Q/C do change colour just prior to emergence, as the bees chew away a layer of wax in order to make it as easy as possible for the queen to chew her own way out from the inside.
LJ

[ondine]

Hi tazz best plan now is to leave them alone because queen cells are vulnerable at later stages of development until about 2 days before emergence
as little john timetable shows you dont want to be poking about before or after virgins hatch and mate
So at least 3 weeks from now before a quick peek for eggs


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[cao]

If I see a capped queen cell I know it will hatch sometime within the next week.  In your case, I would leave them alone for three weeks to hatch, mate and start laying.  You should see new eggs/larva by then.

[Michael Bush]

> Correct me if I am wrong, but 16 days for a queen to emerge from queen cell, plus or minus 1 day.

If it's capped then you are down to 8 days + or - one day.

> Is this from the day eggs  was laid

Yes.

> or from when capped?

No.

>Trying to estimate when it should hatch out.   Also doesn't it change coloring when getting close to hatching?

The bees remove the wax on the tip of the cell and the cocoon will be showing at the tip at about day 13 (from the egg) or 3 days from when it will emerge.  If you see that you are within 3 days of emergence and possibly less.  Two weeks after that you should see some eggs usually.  Three weeks after that if you don't see eggs she's gone or is going to be a drone layer.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesmath.htm