# How long does it take a strong queen to lay up a frame of eggs?



## Billboard (Dec 28, 2014)

A full deep frame of comb has about 3500 cells on one side. A queen can lay 1000 + eggs a day once she's in sync. So figure it out. 3.5 days per side. Maybe faster. This is just my calculations. If anything I think I'm close. But if you every watched a queen I never saw her drop a egg in a cell and go to the joining cell and drop another and so on and so on. I see 1 egg drop she wanders around and drops another like 5 cells away. So who really knows, I think only she does.


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## Billboard (Dec 28, 2014)

To answer all your questions you have to go inspect. All bees work at different rates. So it's best to go look once a week till you get a grasp and see how they work. They work faster during a flow, slower after.


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

The link is to a study on the effect of colony size on brood production over different periods of time:
https://www.ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFil...ct of Population Size on Brood Production.pdf

Note that in the 19 day periods used by the study, virtually none of the eggs laid would yet have resulted in emerged bees.

As you can see from this chart in that study, the _maximum_ number of brood cells in the 19 day average count comparison for April is 27,875 cells, or 1467 filled cells per day. But for similar numbers of bees during other months, average filled brood cell count was less. 








Obviously, a filled brood cell _must _have been an egg earlier, but its likely that the queen actually laid more eggs than the numbers shown in the chart. A percentage of the eggs likely had one issue or another that resulted in the cell being cleaned out by worker bees, and would not have been counted in the chart.


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## Vance G (Jan 6, 2011)

I think we are talking averages here, but I see one side of a frame regularly that appears to have been lain pretty much together as they are all standing up fresh or all starting to lay down. And then you have to figure that queens seem to lay on both sides of the same frame often or across on the next frame. I think they can lay a scary amount but not every day. Its about averages.


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## InBees (May 29, 2016)

According to a Youtube video by Ralph Jones III, if I am understanding his math correctly (at 23:40 through minute 30), he shows that a medium frame can be laid up approximately every other day, and 7 frames in a medium box will be filled in 17 days. 

According to his calculations, one could expect:


One frame laid up every other day. 


Add a new frame of drawn wax to the brood chamber every week


Expect to add a new hive body every other week or so if the hive is strong, and the queen is in high production mode
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlWLCi0m4wQ

However, if it actually takes 3.5 days, as Billboard suggested, that changes the above quite a bit.


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## AHudd (Mar 5, 2015)

And check this out. http://www.dave-cushman.net/bee/beesest.html 

Alex


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

According to Dzierzon a queen can lay 3,000 eggs a day. That doesn't meant that she DOES lay 3,000 a day. That depends on many things, but it could peak at that. A frame of large cell foundation has 7000 cells. So in 2 1/2 days or so a booming queen COULD lay up a frame of brood if the bees let her.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesfaqs.htm#eggslay
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesfaqs.htm#cellsonaframe


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## InBees (May 29, 2016)

Knowledge reduces anxiety over the fear of losing a hive. Surely experience is an important teacher, but until I earn my own experience, I sure appreciate that you all share yours!!


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## InBees (May 29, 2016)

For as thoroughly as is believed I'd scoured your site, Mr. Bush, I'm surprised I missed this information. Thank you for the links. 

So my hives' medium framed small cell foundation could be filled in 2 days. Now I'll be more accurately able to estimate how many days to expect between inspections, armed with supers for expansion. 

From: http://www.bushfarms.com/beesfaqs.htm#cellsonaframe
How many cells on a frame?

Deep frame of 5.4mm foundation 7000 
Deep frame of 4.9mm foundation 8400 
Medium frame of 5.4mm foundation 4620 
Medium frame of 4.9mm foundation 5544

Thank you!


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I would say a queen seldom lays 3,000 eggs in a day. Only during a rapid spring buildup in a very strong hive... but that would be about the limit. And yes that happens but I wouldn't count on it...


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