Weekly inspection done

I have just done my weekly inspection and found the start of queen cells just want to know the time scale till they swarm so I can be ready to do AS

Egg 3 days
Larva 5 days then capped
Pupa 8 days


Swarm goes when first QC is capped (though not always)
Have you found play cups or charged (larva and royal Jelly) Queen Cells?
If the latter, AS now.

PS.
ALL beekeepers must commit to memory the life cycle of the honey bee.

Erichalfbee said:

Egg 3 days
Larva 5 days then capped
Pupa 8 days


Swarm goes when first QC is capped (though not always)
Have you found play cups or charged (larva and royal Jelly) Queen Cells?
If the latter, AS now.

Click to expand...

if they are just starting to build them, you can't give a timescale as there might never be a larva in them - as soon as there is a resident(anything more than an egg) you have to act in a positive way, and the equivalent of stuffing your head in the sand (ripping all the QC's down) is not a solution

Erichalfbee said:

Egg 3 days
Larva 5 days then capped
Pupa 8 days


Swarm goes when first QC is capped (though not always)
Have you found play cups or charged (larva and royal Jelly) Queen Cells?
If the latter, AS now.

PS.
ALL beekeepers must commit to memory the life cycle of the honey bee.

Click to expand...

wish my bees would

jenkinsbrynmair said:

wish my bees would

Click to expand...

Yep ... I don't know whether it's the insulated hives I have but mine seem to be about two days faster than the 'norm' from egg to bee emerging .... I am going to start marking a few cells to see what the actual time frames are ... but like you say .. they always have their own agenda ...

When you say the start of queen cells, could you describe exactly what you saw? They may be queen cups which aren't so much a concern especially if they have no eggs.

dn170221 said:

When you say the start of queen cells, could you describe exactly what you saw? They may be queen cups which aren't so much a concern especially if they have no eggs.

Click to expand...

Yes.
Need to learn to distinguish "play cups" and "Queen Cells".
The concern becomes real and immediate if they are 'wet' ("charged") QCs with a larva in a puddle of Royal Jelly -- that means you are into the 5 days!


I think Lofty should be directed to the Welsh QCs booklet ...
http://beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=28463
And I've just 'bumped' its thread into view in the Beginner's area.