The description was good! Here in NZ it gets called sieving, and its one of those things you do when you have to do it, but it is to some extent an admission of failure! I've seen a 'permanent' box with excluder nailed on, and aluminium sheet on inside walls (rather than your use of silicon spray - that would be good.) which you would wet slightly before starting to shake the bees. The first 3 or 4 frames of shaking is a real mess, but if you use *just enough* smoke, you can get them moving down. And most of the time you can spot the queen trying to get down between the wires. Many times near the corners, but the flash of her abdomen as she turns head down makes her noticeable. It works, but isn't much fun. (\ Nick Wallingford {|||8- home [log in to unmask] (/ work [log in to unmask] NZ Beekeeping http://www.wave.co.nz/pages/nickw/nzbkpg.htm