At various talks i have given the subject of handling the queen has come up. Most beginners are timid about picking up a queen by her wings let alone putting a dot on her. My solution is for beginners to practice on DRONES. We bring a cricket cage(like used for fishing )full of drones to the class. We practice catching the drones by their wings and marking them. The drones will sometimes buzz unlike a queen (maybe a male thing!)but beginners get used to catching and marking. Also a fun activity for a bee club. I could not find drone marking in the archives so thought needed adding. Bob Harrison U.S.A.