Alan With respect to the possibility of using observation hives for educational purposes, I have found that it is useful to build it basically out of wood with only one obsevation "window". This stops moisture build-up in humid climates, which you may or may-not experience in your part of the world. In our situation there was a lot of moisture build-up which the bees struggled to rectify because the hive entrance only consists of a tube. This led to quite a large infestation of waxmoth (Galleria sp.) which, although detrimental to the bees, was interesting in itself. good luck +-----------------------------------+ | I walked in through the open door | | couldn't believe what I saw | | They were all around me | | Epeleptics to a banjo melody. | | GAVIN JOHNSTON | | [log in to unmask] | +-----------------------------------+