van Thank you .... Wont panic.
Lots of bees? .... not sure. I can offer, we found a good amount on almost 8~9 frames on both brood boxes ..... my wife says "Yes, there were a lot".
After re-queening late this summer, we figured we'd try letting nature run it's course.
We opened the hive [two 10 frame brood boxes w/ a syrup feeder on top] to do a varroa mite test, look for the queen & check the status.
Found bees on almost every frame in both boxes.
Top box
Removed & inspected ... maybe 6 of the 10 frames. Figured the brood were below, so I pulled off the top box & it weighed +50#, closer to 60# [just checked w/ two 25# barbells]. I'm guessing +/-90% capped honey, in the upper box.
Bottom Box
I found the marked queen today near the middle of the bottom box ... love florescent green. Found just a few scattered brood on 1 or 2 frame(s) near the middle ... started to panic, decided we should "close 'er up" ... because things "looked" wrong (so few brood).
There were cells w/ uncapped honey & some pollen [wish I'd videoed w/ my phone to review ... next time].
We just tested 1/2 cup from the bottom box for mites & found 12+ from a 1/2 cup of bees ... ugh! Now on to learn about treatment.
Again Thank you for the input, much appreciated. Good health.