Beedicca

There was another ant incursion this morning, but I caught it fairly early and was able to address the issue. The bees had successfully confined the ants behind the follower board, and there weren't too many casualties.
Examining the brood combs, I still see no bee babies, but there are far fewer beetles and larvae. I think freezing the combs is helping. The workers have cleaned up the two combs I returned yesterday, removing all the dead beetle grubs, and the floor of the hive is a great deal cleaner. I assisted by wiping out the back part again. Unfortunately, I'm now finding what must be wax moth webs, eggs, and larvae in some combs.
I looked at the front combs today, hoping to find the Queen. I didn't see her, but there is one section I'm unable to check without breaking two combs apart, which seems too much of an injury to bestow on this beleaguered hive. The vast majority of the bees are gathered at the very front of the hive, on the first two bars.
I've never seen the Queen since the day we set her capsule in the new hive, so I'm unwilling to assume she's gone on that evidence alone. But why are there no babies? I know there was a population spurt in mid-July, so she was there then. I have seen no pollen storage right now either, despite the fall bloom getting underway.
I'm beginning to look into the idea of re-queening.
We also bought materials to build a new hive. I'm thinking this might be a project I could undertake with my dad. He's just had surgery again on his thumb, another torn ligament. There is something amiss with his connective tissues: this is his third surgical repair in as many years.
It's time I spend more time with him, and my mom.