Post swarm capture egg laying delay?

[Father Fox]

I hived a captured swarm. Assuming the queen is fertile and mated, how long before she will start to lay eggs in her new hive? There is plenty of drawn comb available. It has only been a week so far. Plenty of pollen and stores visible already. Is an egg laying delay usual?

 

[ratcatcher]

again, assuming is not an option with bees

 

[Father Fox]

Maybe I should have said 'presuming' ?

 

[oliver90owner]

Two or three days, maybe four.

 

[bontbee]

And if she's a virgin...?

 

[Father Fox]

Will bees swarm with a virgin queen?

 

[Cazza]

Will bees swarm with a virgin queen?

Yes. As a cast if there are multiple QC's in the hive and enough bees to leave.
Cazza

 

[bontbee]

Fraid so. The old queen leaves with the "prime" swarm, and depending on the strength of the colony, successive "casts" may leave, containing one - or more - virgins. (I know someone who sieved a swarm and found six virgins in it!!) So without knowing where your swarm came from, you can't tell, (unless you see a marked queen in it!), whether it is headed by a virgin or not.

 

[oliver90owner]

And if she's a virgin...?

She's not. I replied to the OP. It states clearly: 'assuming the queen is fertile and mated'.

In your scenario, the assumption would have been wrong, so no real question would apply?

 

[Cazza]

And if she's a virgin...?

She's not. I replied to the OP. It states clearly: 'assuming the queen is fertile and mated'.

In your scenario, the assumption would have been wrong, so no real question would apply?

Rab, you may be taking things too literally here. I would have made the assumption that Bontbee's question was in the abstract and therefore perfectly valid. As a speech and language therapist I am taught to look for the inferential meaning as well as the literal meaning.
Cazza

 

[oliver90owner]

Yes, Cazza, I know, but I am scientifically minded, not abstract.

I look at the evidence: thread specifically assuming said facts, my reply to that post, immediate response of question was to my post, not the original (as the Op made it perfectly clear that we were assuming a specific scenario - and a virgin queen most certainly does not fall within those constraints.

QED?

RAB

 

[Finman]

.
Laying after swarming is quite clear.
Mated queen is slim and it takes couple on days that really starts to lay.
Even if it lays one box in a week, it must slow down because the size of swarm rules, how much brood can be. The brood cycle is 3 weeks, and no need to hesitate with couple of days.

Cast swarm's queen has been often inside the cell 2 days and it can mate after 5 days after swarming. And who knows when the virgin has really born.
But it is same with just mated queen, it cannot lay more than swarm can take care of brood....so day here or there, it means nothing.

What the beekeeper can do is to give a proper size room to the swarm that it can rear as large brood area as possible. And close those mesh floors. They do not help brood rearing in small hives. You may give a a frame of brood to the small swarm that it becomes stronger and the queen can lay douple amount of brood.

It takes about 4-5 weeks that colony start to get new bees again..

.

 

[beecology]

Can I add another scenario here? What if the captured swarm only has new foundation and no drawn out comb (the queen is from a small prime swarm in this instance)

I ask as this is the situation I have in one hive - a swarm hived approximately 14 days ago and the bees have been drawing out comb but have been slow to do so (hive confinement due to poor weather hasn't helped).

Still no brood or eggs layed - how long does it take to draw out comb from scratch?

Thanks in advance

 

[Finman]

Douple

 

[Finman]

If the virgin cannot mate for weather, so it happens.

From prime swarm and mated queen? Sounds impossible

 

[beecology]

If the virgin cannot mate for weather, so it happens.

From prime swarm and mated queen? Sounds impossible

Thanks Finman,

I am confident the queen is an old mated queen but the issue here is how can she lay if there is no fully drawn comb?

How long does it take to draw out comb enough for a queen to lay on?

I would have included a frame or two of drawn comb for that swarm, but unfortunately, I have none spare.

 

[oliver90owner]

Can I add another scenario here?

As post #4.

Before you ask, the same even if there was no foundation to build on.

 

[Finman]

.
How many frames the bees occupy and how big is the hive room?
Do they have food stores in frames

 

[Finman]

Thanks Finman,

How long does it take to draw out comb enough for a queen to lay on?

.

24 hours

But something is wrong in you hive. Too cold, too small? Starving for weathers..I do not know what is going there

The basics of founding a colony....

 

[bontbee]

And if she's a virgin...?

She's not. I replied to the OP. It states clearly: 'assuming the queen is fertile and mated'.

In your scenario, the assumption would have been wrong, so no real question would apply?

Rab, you may be taking things too literally here. I would have made the assumption that Bontbee's question was in the abstract and therefore perfectly valid. As a speech and language therapist I am taught to look for the inferential meaning as well as the literal meaning.
Cazza

You are correct Cazza - As this was posted in the beginners section, I was trying to gently suggest to FF that there might be another scenario to his assumption/presumption, that was all. FF's reply indicates to me that it might not have been a pointless question - unless FF is being facetious, of course, in which case, I would take your point, RAB.