> Hmm,  not sure why it would be at the least surprising

It's surprising because there is no evidence of two honey bee colonies ever coöperating, that I know of. They are notoriously cut-throat; they would never willingly share honey with any outsider, and would just as soon kill their neighbors to steal honey even when they have ten times what they might need. 

Reminds me of the days when I worked in a bee supply store in San Diego. Beekeepers would come in and complain that so & so put a yard right next to them, even though there were no regulations about yard separation. I suggested to one guy that the beekeepers should sit down with a map and mark all their locations, so they could avoid infringing on each other. 

He said to me point blank: "I don't want anybody to know where *my yards* are!" 

PLB

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