Black-eyed pupae- old enough?

[Ben Brewcat]

I'm just making sure I didn't miss a queen cell that hatched... I uncapped some cells (and took out two more queen cells) and most of 'em had black eyes. No eggs to be found. I caged the existing queen 10 days ago, and removed her tonight. New queen goes in in 12 hours. Am I in the clear, as long as I got all the queen cells (they were capped)?

[Ben Brewcat]

Add-on question: it's been 10 days in the cage, queen cells removed four days ago and again today. How long until I would be at risk for laying workers?

[Michael Bush]

>Am I in the clear, as long as I got all the queen cells (they were capped)?

Probably.

>it's been 10 days in the cage, queen cells removed four days ago and again today. How long until I would be at risk for laying workers?

Is there a queen in the hive in a cage or no queen at all? I've seen them go laying worker in as little as two weeks and sometimes after as long as a couple of months, but, in my experience six weeks seems pretty typical. Open brood is the best protection from laying workers, but a queen helps a lot.

[Ben Brewcat]

Whew, gret to hear. Yes, there was only a queen absence for 12 hours, introduced the new one this AM. Hope I didn't miss any cells! Thanks you.