Though I am no expert, videos of bumblebee life cycles indicate they frequently have short nest spans due to being overtaken by mites. Thus it occurs to me, that in addition to displacement, the possibility of introducing biotypes if not species of mites that would be more damagin to local bumblebees is fairly high. I have several people in this area who have taken it upon themselves to move unwanted colonies from gardeners composts and other sites; they adapt well to moving to other homes and are rather docile if the evening is cold. One volunteer placed the colony in a plastic, clear, shoebox with a hole for exit/entry. This hole she sealed up and fed the bees with honey inside the box for a day or two. She then removed the cover on the hole and the bees remained in their shoebox for the rest of the summer. (She also used a black marker to circle the entry, so the bees could see it more easily). Through the plastic she was able to witness a hostile take-over by one of the parasitic? bumblebees and other colony activity. SHARON J. COLLMAN W.S.U. COOPERATIVE EXTENSION URBAN IPM RESOURCE CENTER @ CENTER FOR URBAN HORTICULTURE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON GF-15 SEATTLE, WA 98195 PHONE: 206-543-8616 E-MAIL [log in to unmask]