>>.all the other hives were moved away removing the competition pressure!

> Could be a reason for the hives improvement.

Another reason could be the time when the other hives were removed.  If they 
were removed and left bees behind, that can really boost the dinks left 
either as too useless to take along, or deliberately as catch hives.

We used that effect deliberately when moving to pollination.  We picked up 
in  evening while we could still see well, and some of the returning 
foragers remained behind. We supered those hives up, and when we returned 
after pollination, they were usually full.

Losing a few bees off the loading hives at dusk had little effect on the 
pollination, since it was days before it got going in ernest.  Those bees 
left behind sure did boost the hives left behind, though.

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