Missing Queen, and Big Black Bee

I did a hive inspection today, the first since I added an extra deep while switching the bottom board out for a screened bottom.  I didn't get to do my inspection then to see if they were ready for the deep, but I figured they had to be close, so I added it anyway.  It turns out, they still only have 6 of the 10 original frames drawn out completely, so I'm too early.  But I don't know if there is any harm in having it there, so I'm leaving it.
I got my camera back from my daughter, so it's easier to post pictures this time.  I still need to pull other pictures off of my phone and my camcorder (if I can even find it) and when I do I'll go back and update the other posts.  For now, here are some pics...

This is one of the things I'm mildly concerned with.  Notice the top and bottom of the frame; the bees keep building comb above and below.  I hadn't noticed the below part before, at least not quite so prominently, so I would like to attribute it to the bees having more space, or more perceived space with the screened bottom board.  But at the same time, there was at least one piece of comb stuck to the bottom board I removed, so they were doing it anyway.  And they have been building above ever since I installed them.  The first time I inspected them, they had comb sticking out of the hole in the inner cover.  They also are building comb bridges across the gaps between the center frames.  I think those frames are spaced too far apart, but honestly, I think they get further apart every inspection.  There are so many bees, and probably the queen, between those central frames that I'm afraid to push them all the way together for fear of killing some.  As it is, I haven't done a single inspection without killing a few.

The picture above does show a weird brood pattern, but I think that's because one generation has already emerged.  This picture is the other side of the same frame, and I think that is an excellent pattern.  It's almost solid brood.  Also, I don't think you can tell from the pictures, but I am seeing darker stores, so I think they are laying up true honey now instead of just syrup.  They were probably doing that at the last inspection, but I was looking for DARK honey, like we got from our 2-door-down neighbor who has bees.  His honey was very dark, and had a strong flavor I dislike.  Even knowing store bought wasn't that dark, and already telling myself that it may have been the late fall honey I've ready about, I was still expecting my bees to lay up very dark honey.  Either they aren't, or it is still mixed with the honey.  Either way, I tried some that was in some of the comb I scraped off the top, and it definitely taste more like honey I enjoy.  Again, it may have been watered down with syrup, or it may be that vomited syrup tastes pretty much like vomitted nectar, but I'm definitely feeling better about the honey I might get next year (I'm not planning on collecting any this year, since it is a package starting from scratch).

Anyway, all done, I didn't find the queen this time.  (Update: I found the queen).  I did find eggs, and I think they were placed correctly, so she's been there recently.  Although, honestly, I didn't think to really scrutinize the placement until after I was putting it back together.  The bees were getting agitated, and I had already gotten one tangled in my hair, so I wasn't pulling it back apart (my inner little girl was running around screaming, "get it off, get it off!", but I couldn't let my wife see that, so I just smoked my head until it managed to get out, and then put my veil back on).  I also am quite slow at this, so she could have easily moved from a frame I hadn't yet inspected to one I had just inspected while I was trying to build smoke back up or something.  I'm just hoping I haven't killed her while moving frames.

What I did find, though, was this ugly sucker (and some larvae are in the picture, too, if you are interested).  I don't know what it means to find a Big Black Bee in my hive (Update: It probably means the queen sleeps around).  Now, I would swear that he was bigger than the other workers during the inspection, at least drone size.  But maybe I'm wrong.  Or, maybe there are more black bees than just the one and this isn't actually the picture I was looking for; after looking at the first two photos above, I see a couple of other bees in there that appear darker than I would think they should.  Is it just a genetic anomaly, or an intruder of some sort?  I don't know.  I also want to know why I have drones hanging around at all.  I didn't get any pictures of them, but I know I have seen them entering the hive.   I thought that when stores were low, which is how I would think a new package would see an empty hive, they kicked out any drones.  So I can imagine a few getting mixed in with the package, but my hive hasn't been raising any, and I would think any originals would have been kicked out.  But I know I've seen them go in, and I'd swear one that was almost the size of a bumble bee went in the other day.

Of course, one of the things I'm concerned with is that bees perform their various duties based on age.  So I think it may be theoretically possible that my hive doesn't yet have many guard bees.  I don't know if other workers will alert to a strange bee, or if they figure that if the guards didn't find him, he must be all right.  That's one of the reason's I want to leave my entrance reducer on.