Misplaced

It's pretty cold this morning; there is ice in my flowerpots. However, it was also the best morning for me to check and feed the bees. I'm glad I did. Last time I went in, I checked the queen cage, thought that Alcibee wasn't in it, and moved it above the queen excluder so the rest of the bees would eventually get off it and I could throw it away. What I apparently didn't realize was that she was actually still in there, I guess? It didn't look like her at the time. Regardless, I saw her with the rest of the bees near the feeder, above the queen excluder. She needs to be below it, so she can lay her eggs in the newly formed comb. So I very carefully nudged her into the frames below and hopefully she will settle in quickly.

Overall, I'm not sure how I feel about the excluder. Every time I put it back down it crushes some bees and gets the colony upset. (Understandable.) I might not need it if I can be sure the feeders won't hurt the frames by being directly on them. I'll try that next time.