Should I check for queen release today?

[cinch123]

I installed a package on Tuesday. Today the weather is going to be nice with temps in the 70s, but the next 5 days look cold and/or rainy. I have not looked if the queen has been released yet. Should I do that this afternoon (after 3 days) or should I just wait until next Tuesday (7 days) when the weather will be in the upper 50s again? Does it matter?

Also, should I use smoke when I get in there to check if the queen is out or should smoke be avoided this early on?

Thanks!

[oblib]

I would do it today and use smoke. Hopefully she is out and you can snatch the cage out before comb gets built on it.

[BeeCurious]

I would also check today... if she's not out, pull the cork and release the queen between frames.

Be sure to push the frames together, and continue feeding syrup.

[cinch123]

Okay I checked today and the queen has been released. Unfortunately I made a dumb newbee mistake. I noticed one of the sheets of Duragilt foundation I used was bowed to one side of the frame, and they had drawn it out, but had also made a big chunk of comb on top of it. I pulled that piece off. It was big. After putting everything back together I took a good look at it and noticed that it had eggs in it. Darnit! The queen was not on that piece, so that's good.

So the good news is I have a laying queen. I'll leave it closed up for a couple weeks and see what they make. Something tells me the comb won't be pretty with this foundation. I wish I had just gone with beeswax.

[Littlestinger]

I wouldnt worry about losing a few eggs. The bees dont have many resources in them, and a queen can lay a bazillion eggs.