This past year up here was the year of the swarm
and in fact I know several who experienced swarming in mid to late September
for what ever reason leaving some hives very weak and
when last looked at they were strong.
Perhaps a question posed by you Larry to the fellow is simply
when did he last look into his hives prior to his surprise?
depending on that
May it be suggested that both hives swarmed  leaving very weak colonies.
Walter
littlewolfapiaries.com

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html

Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at:
http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm