Walk-Away Split Timeline
Calculate queen development timing after a walk-away split. See when to expect cells, emergence, mating, and eggs.
Split Details
If unknown, we assume bees select ~1-day-old larvae.
Extra days added to 'worry date' for margin of error.
Timeline
Key Dates
Split Date
Colony split, bees begin raising emergency queens
Sat, Dec 6
Cell Selection
Bees selecting larvae for queen cells. Typical emergency queen timeline
Tue, Dec 9
Cells Capped
Queen cells should be capped by this date
Thu, Dec 11
Queen Emergence
Virgin queen emerges from cell
Fri, Dec 19
Orientation Flights
Virgin queen takes orientation flights
Mon, Dec 22 – Fri, Dec 26
Mating Flights
Queen takes mating flights (weather dependent)
Wed, Dec 24 – Fri, Jan 2
Earliest Eggs
Earliest you might see eggs (if mating was quick)
Fri, Dec 26
Typical Eggs
Most likely timeframe to see first eggs
Fri, Jan 2
Check by Date
If no eggs by this date, investigate queen status
Sun, Jan 11
Quick Reference
Earliest eggs
Fri, Dec 26
Latest typical eggs
Fri, Jan 9
Check/worry by
Sun, Jan 11
Save & Export
Label this hive so you know which one to check
Assumptions & Notes
- Timeline assumes emergency queen cells are raised from available eggs/larvae.
- Queen emergence takes ~16 days from egg (varies by source material).
- Mating flights require good weather (warm, calm days). Bad weather extends timeline.
- Virgin queens typically start laying 7-14 days after emergence, but can take up to 3 weeks.
- If no eggs by the worry date, inspect for laying workers or consider requeening.