"Are the small hive beetles now established in California?" Not that I know of, but with the hundreds of thousands of hives coming through the state borders every year, I'd like as much isolation as I can get. My only mite loss last year was in an avocado ranch where there were two of us with bees. The farmer was tricky and I didn't learn there were two of us until his son mentioned it to me. I since found out the other guy lost his entire apiary, and while I don't the reason, I suspect his colonies crashed due to mites and infected mine. I lost the one hive and had to treat the others all over again. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and other info --- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::