In response to Aaron Morris' comments, when the hive had  laying workers,
the capped drone brood was viable when uncapped, not rotten or syruppy.  The
queen didn't seem to get started.  I never had any dead brood that would
appear "stringy" when drawn out with a twig, or present a foul odor
(although my sense of smell, like my eyesight, seems to get dimmer with
age).  I am getting copies of Mr. Morse's book on bee diseases, and will
inspect the combs carefully under a microscope before continuing. I was
under the inpression that the scale at the bottom of the cell is quite
distinct, but this is my first time and I'm not certain what I'm looking at.
  I did check my log and it was just three days prior to finding the wax
moth cocoons that I had added syrup to the division feeder - I was surprised
how quickly they "move in".
/C.Crowell