Results 1 to 3 of 3

Thread: Swarm arrival : how long before her majesty starts to lay?

  1. #1
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Ellon, Aberdeenshire
    Posts
    6

    Question Swarm arrival : how long before her majesty starts to lay?

    Hi everyone,
    thanks for your time in anticipation. I managed to attract a swarm ( after weeks of searching for a nuc!).
    Settled the colony last Wednesday into brood box ( they had decided to start setting down comb on the inside of the hive roofvfollowing their arrival!

    Anyway, I'm off to do an "inspection" can I expect to see eggs?
    Also, I'm feeding with Ambrosia, can I also compliment this with pollen feed or is there enough?

    Many thanks!

    Martyn

  2. #2
    Senior Member Jon's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Belfast, N. Ireland
    Posts
    5,122
    Blog Entries
    94

    Default

    If it is a prime swarm collected on Wednesday you will surely see eggs and probably larvae but if it is a cast swarm with a virgin queen it could be several weeks until she mates and lays.
    There is a huge amount of pollen and nectar available at the moment so i wouldn't overdo the feeding unless the weather is grim for days at a time.
    What size was it, ie, how many brood frames does it cover. A prime swarm could almost fill a brood box.

  3. #3
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Ellon, Aberdeenshire
    Posts
    6

    Default

    Thanks
    They would comforably cover about 4 to 5 frames in total I would think.

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •