Installed a package on April 21st, then had a swarm leave the top bar hive on May 30th. I actually witnessed the event which was pretty amazing. About 3-4 days later I saw the new queen in the hive and inserted empty bars between brood bars. Just checked again on June 11 and still no eggs or lava. How long does it take till the new queen lays? I'm naturally getting nervous since this is only my second year trying.
There can be variables.. rainy weather etc, but I wouldnt wait more than two weeks. If no eggs by then I would put a frame of brood in and see if they pull emergency cells.. If they do, you can let them raise the queen, or buy a mated queen.. buying the mated queen would be the preferred resolution due to the time they have already waited.
I agree with OldMech, 100%. I usually see eggs sooner than later on the beemath calendar on successful queen rearings. I usually cant stand it and look 4-5 days before the calendar is marked and usually see eggs. I also agree that a mated Q would be best after a failed attempt, just due to natural mortality by the time the new one is raised, the numbers will be down. G
thanks. I'll give it a try with a frame of capped brood. how soon should I see a queen cell?
If you want them to draw a cell, you need to give them eggs to very young larvae. They take a 3 day old larvae to make a queen. A frame of capped brood will be good for boosting numbers only. If you give them a frame of 3 day old larvae, you will have a cell in about a week. G
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesmath.htm
From the time the Queen lays a fertilized egg until you have a laying queen takes around 29 days.