Queen Rearing Calendar — Calculator by Grafting Date
Enter the date you grafted the larvae — the calendar shows what to do and on which day, up to the emergence and mating flight of the young queen. The calculation follows the classic schedule: a queen develops in 16 days from the egg being laid.
Queen rearing calculator
Based on the 16-day schedule from egg: grafting on day 3, queen emergence 13 days after grafting.
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day 0
Grafting
Transfer young larvae into queen cups and place the grafting frame into the cell-builder colony.
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day 3
Check larva acceptance
Check that the starter colony accepted the grafted larvae.
Details
Inspect the grafting frame. Count how many cups the bees started building and filling with royal jelly. Remove rejected larvae. If acceptance is low (below 30%), prepare a backup batch.
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day 5
Remove emergency queen cells
Destroy emergency queen cells on the comb.
Details
Bees in the starter colony may have raised their own emergency cells on brood. Shake bees off the frames and remove all emergency cells, or they will emerge before your grafted queens and kill them.
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day 7
Check cell sealing
Check that queen cells are sealed.
Details
Make sure the bees sealed all accepted cells. Record the exact number of good cells in the app. A quiet period begins from this point. ⚠️ Do not touch the frame by hand on days 8–11! Pupae are very fragile; any shake will kill them.
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day 8–11
Don't touch the frame
Pupae in capped cells are fragile: don't turn or shake the frame until day 11.
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day 11
Prepare nucs and splits
Set up splits or nucs for the new queens.
Details
Cells will be mature tomorrow. Prepare new homes: form nucs or splits. They should stand queenless for a day so the bees feel orphaned and accept the cells readily.
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day 12
Cage or distribute cells
Place cells in cages or distribute to splits.
Details
Cells are mature and strong. Carefully cut them from the grafting frame. Put each cell in an individual cage or distribute them to prepared nucs/splits.
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day 13
Check queen emergence
Check emergence of young queens.
Details
Today is emergence day. Check cages or nucs. A successful queen should be large, active, with intact wings and legs. Release them into nucs (if caged) or remove empty cells.
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day 24
Check laying (final)
Check mating flight and start of laying.
Details
About 10 days have passed since emergence. The queen should have mated. Check comb in nucs for fresh brood (eggs). Even, consistent laying means a good queen. If no eggs, wait another 3–4 days.
In the Beehive app this calendar works as a timer with reminders.
Queen development timeline by day
| Stage | Duration | Days from egg laying |
|---|---|---|
| Egg | 3 days | 0–2 |
| Larva | 5 days | 3–7 |
| Capped queen cell (prepupa and pupa) | 8 days | 8–15 |
| Queen emergence | — | Day 16 |
Grafting is done with young larvae — on the first day of the larval stage. That's why the queen emerges on day 13 after grafting, and the queen cells are ripe on days 11–12.
Key rules
- Don't touch the frame from day 8 to day 11 after grafting. Pupae in capped queen cells are very fragile — shaking or turning the frame over kills them.
- Remove emergency queen cells on day 5. Otherwise queens from them will emerge before the grafted ones and destroy them.
- Distribute or isolate queen cells before emergence. The first queen to emerge will destroy the rest.
- Prepare nucs in advance — they need a day without a queen so the bees will accept a queen cell.
Queen rearing timer in the app
In the Beehive app, the same calendar works as a timer: set the date and queen cell stage on the hive card, and the app shows the current day of the cycle and offers to create check tasks in the journal — with reminders for every key day. The timer works offline and is free.
