Definitely try a frame with eggs and/or larvae in the hive assumed to be queenless first!  In the winter, queenless hives' bees will often quickly drift to queenright colonies.  They will abondon a sinking ship (except for a few die hards) a lot quicker in the winter than in the summer.

The fact that this colony is strong in bees makes me think there is a queen they actually like.  A weaker hive will often start up eggs/larvae in the winter first in order to restore a natural colony size.  A strong colony will often wait until pollen is available.

Drifting on cleansing-weather days can quickly depopulate colonies in an apiary setting.  On marginal days, bees will try to get back to their hive as soon as possible before getting cold and dropping to the ground.  They will often go in the first hive that smells ok.  I think they follow a strong thermal ''portal" back as a primary regard.   This doesn't have a chance to happen with solitary, feral colonies but in an apiary it can be confusing for the bee.

Waldemar

____________________________________________________________
Enter to WIN...
a 7 to10 Day Europe cruise for two with Holland America Cruise Line!
http://thirdpartyoffers.netzero.net/TGL3231/4d6be4246f1cf573cd4st01duc

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html

Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at:
http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm