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Author Topic: How long to wait for a Virgin...  (Read 2750 times)

Offline damienpryan

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How long to wait for a Virgin...
« on: October 18, 2020, 09:31:49 pm »
Hi Guys,

I've caught 3 swarms 7-14 days ago...
One of the new colonies shows no sign of a queen (no eggs, cannot find her) but is busy building comb etc.

I'm guessing it is a virgin queen swarm.

How long should I wait for her to start laying?
And if she doesn't, should I just combine it into one of the new colonies.
(I have too many hives anyway...)

Cheers

Damien

Offline TheHoneyPump

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Re: How long to wait for a Virgin...
« Reply #1 on: October 19, 2020, 07:22:19 pm »
Queen from scratch (larvae):   22-28 days to laying.  Longer if weather is poor for mating flights. 

Queen from virgin stage:  8-16 days to laying.  Longer if weather is poor.

Hope that helps!
« Last Edit: October 19, 2020, 08:52:47 pm by TheHoneyPump »
When the lid goes back on, the bees will spend the next 3 days undoing most of what the beekeeper just did to them.

Offline damienpryan

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Re: How long to wait for a Virgin...
« Reply #2 on: October 26, 2020, 03:58:30 am »
Found her...

She's started laying...


Offline TheHoneyPump

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Re: How long to wait for a Virgin...
« Reply #3 on: October 26, 2020, 04:43:12 pm »
Congratulations! 
When the lid goes back on, the bees will spend the next 3 days undoing most of what the beekeeper just did to them.

Offline Michael Bush

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Re: How long to wait for a Virgin...
« Reply #4 on: November 02, 2020, 03:06:35 pm »
To answer the original question a queen has 21 days from when she emerges to get mated.  After that she will become a drone layer if she gets mated.
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Offline Beelab

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Re: How long to wait for a Virgin...
« Reply #5 on: November 04, 2020, 06:21:43 am »
Thanks Michael B. Always wondered about that.

 

anything