How soon after a hive swarms can you expect to see new bees?

[Oblio13]

In other words, how close to hatching do swarm cells tend to be by the time the old queen goes walkabout?

I think there are new bees on orientation flights only about 3 1/2 weeks after a hive swarmed. Is that likely?

[FRAMEshift]

In other words, how close to hatching do swarm cells tend to be by the time the old queen goes walkabout?

I think there are new bees on orientation flights only about 3 1/2 weeks after a hive swarmed. Is that likely?

A new queen could be laying as early as 23 days after her own egg was laid (although this would be unusually early).  Add another 21 days for her eggs to emerge as new bees and you are at 44 days after the queen egg was laid.  The hive usually swarms at about the time the queen cells are capped, which is 8 days after the queen egg was laid, so at the earliest the new bees would appear at about 36 days after the swarm.  And orientation flights would be at least a few days later, at the earliest, so around 43 days..... much longer than 3 1/2 weeks.  

I think the bees you saw orienting were from the old queen.  

[Oblio13]

A case of wishful thinking. I'm itching to know if they successfully made a new queen, but am trying to minimize intrusions. Thanks -

[David McLeod]

Three and a half weeks is plenty of time for a virgin queen to hatch have her mating flight and start laying. A quick peek to check for eggs would not be to intrusive. Better to be sure they're queenright than to let them go queenless.

[Oblio13]

The four frames they've built out look like a homogenous mass, I'm reluctant to pull them apart and trying to be patient. There are two other nucs at the same stage, they all came from swarm cells in my strongest hive when it swarmed.

[Kathyp]

in your area, you need to know.  if they are not queen-right, you need to have a new plan now.

[Michael Bush]

Usually the old queen leaves right after the queen cells are capped.  That means another week to emerge and two to three weeks to mate.  So 3 to 4 weeks after the swarm you should see eggs.