How many days are counted after a young queen's emergence for her to reach sexual maturity, and when does she generally begin laying?
- Sexual maturity: about 5–6 days after emergence; start of laying: about 8–15 days after emergence.
- Sexual maturity: about 8–9 days after emergence; start of laying: about 24 hours after emergence.
- Sexual maturity: about 2–3 days after emergence; start of laying: about 4 days after emergence.
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Correct answer: 1.
Sexual maturity: about 5–6 days after emergence; start of laying: about 8–15 days after emergence.
Why?
After emerging, the young queen is not immediately ready to mate. It takes about 5–6 days for her to reach sexual maturity and be able to carry out her mating flights, if weather conditions are favourable.
After one or more successful mating flights, laying generally begins a few days later. In beekeeping practice, a first laying about 8–15 days after the queen's emergence is often taken as an indicative reference.
What to understand
A young queen's timeline is not mechanical. The weather, the availability of mature drones, the strength of the nucleus, the quality of the workers' attendance, and the success of the mating flights can advance or delay the start of laying.
The indication '24 hours after the last mating flight' may be encountered under very good conditions, but it is not the best reference for inspecting a young queen at the apiary. To avoid intervening too early, it is more prudent to reason in days after emergence.
If no laying is observed after about three weeks, caution is warranted: the queen may be delayed, poorly mated, lost during a flight, or have become incapable of producing normal laying.
Key takeaways
The young queen reaches sexual maturity about 5–6 days after her emergence.
The start of laying is generally expected about 8–15 days after emergence, but this interval depends heavily on mating conditions.
At the apiary, it is better to inspect patiently and avoid concluding too quickly that mating has failed.
Further reading
► Principles and methods of queen rearing