Timeline After Swarm Capture
Settling and Comb Building: Immediately after the swarm is captured, worker bees begin constructing comb for the queen to lay her eggs. This usually takes 1-3 days depending on resources and the number of workers.
Queen Starts Laying Eggs: The queen will generally start laying eggs within 2-7 days after being hived, provided that the necessary wax cells are ready.
Development of Eggs to Larvae: Eggs hatch into larvae about three days after being laid.
Larvae Feeding: The larvae are fed and grow over the next five days.
Capping of Brood Cells: Worker bees cap the brood cells around days 8-9 from when the eggs were laid, marking the start of the pupation process.
Ideal Treatment Days with Oxalic Acid Vaporization
For oxalic acid vaporization, the best time to treat is when there are maximum uncapped brood cells, because oxalic acid does not penetrate capped cells where varroa mites can hide and reproduce. Therefore, timing the treatment just before brood capping when the queen has started laying and larvae are still uncapped is crucial.
Steps to Follow
Inspect Hive: Around day 5-7 after capture, inspect the hive to confirm the presence of eggs and young larvae.
Prepare for Treatment: If you find eggs and young larvae, prepare your materials and equipment for oxalic acid vaporization.
Apply Treatment: Ideally, apply the treatment on day 7-8 from the day eggs were first noticed. This targets the varroa mites effectively before they can hide in the capped cells. Swarms in a 5 Frame NUC box should receive no more than 2g,
