HI all I was reading the post and happened to think it maght be mother nature s way of responding to the mite problem. Produce a lot of swarms to increase the chances of survival. One more thing if you live in place where africanized bees are present be and you acquire someones elses hive. Be sure to check if they are africanized. If you are not sure consult someone who knows. They are mean. I bought two hives and when I tried to remove the honey supers they swarmed out and killed two pit bulls. I was left with a BIG vet bill and an angry nieghbor. It was scary. David Alcantar