[LAlldredge]

Do fall swarms ever return to the originating hive? This colony has a very full deep and very full medium and the number of bees surprised me when I took a good look today. Wall to wall bees. I'm sure it's hard to track bees, but wanted to see if anyone had large population influxes before winter that's unrelated to brood rearing. This one swarmed in August. Also had a varroa spike in this one that I'm knocking down with an OAV series.

 

[JWPalmer]

Swarms that have just issued have been known to return on occasion, but usually because the queen did not go with them, often referred to as a false swarm. A swarm from August would not suddenly reappear to my knowlege. A swarm may take over a weak hive, that has happened, and I understand can be common with AHB swarms. My guess is your foragers are living longer and you are not seeing the attrition more common in the summer months so the population is increasing. Just a bit of speculation on my part but a strong hive going into winter is a good thing.