Hello all,
 
I figured I'd give a an update on my bee romoval effort I posted earlier.
Everything seems to be going fine.  My hive is building up in strength
although I haven't found the queen or eggs yet.  There still is what
appears to be a viable queen cell in the hive.  When I started to perform
my inspection a bunch of bees were lounging outside the screen cone.  When
they detected the open hive they walked right in, the leaders fanning
Nasonov(SP?) pheramone. I take this as a good sign.
 
I have observed several dead brood occupants trapped in the bottom of the
screen.  They seem to all be drone brood that have been carried out of the
house by workers and dropped in the screen.  Is this normal when removing
bees using the screen cone method?  Is it a good sign?  My logic says that
it means there are not enough workers to maintain brood and they are
removing the dead brood they find.  Am I correct?
 
Spring is in full force here in North Texas.  The bluebonnets are in full
bloom and my bees are bringing in loads of dark red pollen from them.  Yes,
bluebonnets produce dark red pollen.  Milkweed is starting to bloom along
with dandelions.  Mesquite is leafing out so the first mesquite honey flow
should come soon.  An unbelievable contrast to the brown spring of last
year's drought.
 
Ted Wout, 3rd year, 10 hives
Red Oak, TX