In looking at the long range forcast (silly me) I see that on the 1-3 days my queens should emerge (day 16) temps are in the 70's but on days 20-25 temps are forcast in the 50's and then back into the 60's and 70's after that. Will she mate in the 50's or can she wait a few days till the temps warm?
as long as you have a variation in temperature over the two week span that follow the time the queen emerges you should have nothing (well perhaps nothing is a bit of an overstatement here) to worry about. optimally you want temperatures above 60 degrees with limited wind in the afternoon. I am fairly certain (via casual observation here) that queens can and do get mated at temperatures somewhat below 60.
