At 09:43 AM 4/2/02 -0700, you wrote:
>The only way I know will work with absolute certainty -- and it is simple
>enough --  is to make an opening at the =very top= of the cavity for the
>bees to escape and very, very slowly fill the entire cavity with water
>(though some other hole).

Great idea, I've never seen that one myself.  One other thought, in
the effort to maintain the genetic material, if you could manage to
fish some comb out with any very young larva or eggs you could raise
a new queen from it.

I have this very same problem to tackle this spring.  The colony is in
the wall of a house and has lived there continuously for more than 10
years.  If I'm really lucky it might throw off a swarm (possibly letting me
capture the old queen) before the homeowner needs them removed.
Unfortunately removal of the siding or using water is not an option. I
will have time to use the cone method, but was hoping to salvage more
than that considering it's strength and longevity without any treatments.

-Tim