The native Polistes aurifer. (golden paper wasp) frequently. overwinters in attics of homes. The queens emerge during the. first warm days of spring (as. early as March and April), select. a nest site, and build a small. paper nest in which they lay.
The length of incubation (or amount of time it takes for eggs to hatch) depends a lot on weather conditions. Temperature, humidity, rainfall, and other factors influence incubation. Generally, land turtle incubation ranges from 45-90 days (I know that's a long time to wait when you want to see baby turtles!). I suggest you start checking on the nest every couple days starting at the six week point. I wouldn't expect to see any babies until August at the earliest.
They hatched at an average of 70 days. Incubation can take anywhere from 60 to 90 days depending on the incubation temperature, but typically it takes between 65 to 75 when temperatures range between 80 and 84 degrees. Like other box turtles, the sex of ornate box turtles can be determined by incubation temperature. At 80 degrees, a clutch will exhibit a fairly even mix of males and females. Eggs incubated at 72 degrees will produce mostly to all male turtles. An incubation temperature of 88 degrees will produce nearly all females.