At 08:34 PM 7/9/99 -0700, you wrote:
>So far the bees are staying, until it is time in
>the Fall.  If I need to move the bees to another location are there any
>resources I can call on to have the bees relocated to another spot so
>that they can continue their life cycle?
>

No need to move them in the Fall.  Bombus will not use the same home two
years in a row.  Queens will leave in the Fall and seek out a secure place
to hibernate.  In the Spring, they will find a new abandoned mouse or
rodent hole to make their nest in.

>Also, do bumble bees in the Northern California area (we live in Santa
>Cruz) suffer from the mites like other bees in California do?  How
>plentiful is the wild population?
>

Bombus do have mite problems just like Apis.  I live in Northern Illinois
and Bombus here are quite plentiful, gentle and great pollinators.  You
have to work at it pretty hard to get them to sting.

Tom

4 hives in Northern Illinois