Hi Barry and All Barry you mentioned that you were worried that the beetles may be able to survive winters in South Carolina. I have talked to Rod about the climate in SC and it seems winter is sort of like a bad winter here, with temperatures similar to areas like the western cape province (where Cape Town is - at the tip of africa), the beetle does however survive much further inland. But it has a helper, where bees can survive, it can. They don't overwinter outside the hives, but rather inside, where I believe they are even fed by the bees. I have watched bees 'licking' beetles in cells. The bees cannot get into the cells to get the beetles out, but they lick them, as they do everything. Often you see the beetle sort of 'licks' back at the proboscis. It think in this way the bees accidentally feed the beetles. Maybe they even use a pheremone to trigger this mistake?? Also, my geuss would be that if large numbers have been found in SC already (as it sounds), they have probably been there one or two seasons. But this is all overhyped. I am sure buckfast and other bees with good african genes will soon adapt to them, and everything will sort itself out. Brother Adam is said to have included african bee lines in his original buckfast concoction to increase among other things cleanliness, so maybe his foresigh will pay of. Keep well Garth Garth Cambray Camdini Apiaries Grahamstown Apis mellifera capensis Eastern Cape Prov. South Africa Time = Honey After careful consideration, I have decided that if I am ever a V.I.P the I. may not stand for important. (rather influential, ignorant, idiotic, intelectual, illadvised etc)