Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: challenger on March 30, 2009, 10:31:52 PM

Title: Split made a queen but when do I expect mating?
Post by: challenger on March 30, 2009, 10:31:52 PM
I have one split that made a queen and one that failed to. The one that failed to make a queen I simply combined-w-another hive.
The one that made a queen was split 3 weeks ago and I saw the queen today during the first check. I'm wondering when to check again because if she doesn't start laying I still have time before the main flow to combine this hive (lots of bees still from a full deep split)-w-another for a strong colony. I suspect she will be taking mating flights or has already done so but I saw no eggs which I can generally spot fairly easily-w-the way the sunlight hits the area where the hives are.
Should I wait a week or more?
Thanks-Howard
Title: Re: Split made a queen but when do I expect mating?
Post by: jdpro5010 on March 31, 2009, 12:12:46 PM
If you saw the queen chances are she is mated and should be laying in a day or two.  There is the off chance that you saw a virgin and it may take another week or so to see the eggs.  Virgins are generally quite a bit smaller than mated queens although they still look similiar to a mated queen.  My two cents!