Queen Rearing Timeline Calculator
Plan your queen rearing schedule with day-by-day milestones from graft to mated queen. Export to iCal for calendar integration.
Timeline
Graft Day★
Transfer larvae into queen cups. Use larvae <24 hours old.
Check Acceptance★
Inspect cell builder for accepted grafts. Remove rejected cups.
Larvae Fed (Day 3)
Queen larvae are being fed royal jelly by nurse bees.
Cells Capped★
Queen cells should be sealed/capped by now.
Transfer to Mating Nucs★
Move capped cells to mating nucs or incubator. Handle gently!
Emergence Expected★
Virgin queens emerge from cells (day 10-12 from graft).
Emergence Window Closes
All queens should have emerged by now. Remove any unhatched cells.
Mating Flights Begin★
Virgin queens begin orientation and mating flights (weather dependent).
Mating Window
Queens should mate within ~2 weeks of emergence. Check weather.
Check for Eggs★
Look for eggs in mating nuc. Queen should be laying by now.
Confirm Laying Pattern★
Evaluate brood pattern. Good queens show solid, compact pattern.
Ready for Introduction
Mated, laying queens can be introduced to queenless colonies.
Example usage:
Select your graft date, review the timeline, then export to iCal to get reminders on your phone for each critical milestone. Star (★) marks the dates you must not miss.