Scott:
Since the workers "control" the queen by the amount they FEED her, and the
number of cells they POLISH for her to lay in, most apian scientists feel
that the queen is
under total control by her workers.  This resembles the Queen of England who
basically has no power and Parliament runs the country.

Swarming at this time of year is most unusual, except bees that are VERY
HUNGRY due to lack of stores.  Then swarming is a DESPERATION effort.

Be aware of the fact that swarming indicates general DIS-satisfaction with
existing living conditions: brood chamber congestion, excess heat, lack of
shade,
poor queen performance (lack of queen pheromone), bothered continuously by
pests,
and all those other things that is out of their normal living mode.

I hope I have helped.

George