This conversation comes at a good time for me. I wonder whether we might expand the scope a little bit: I like to pick something in particular to learn about each year in my beekeeping. This next year I want to try my hand at queen rearing, which at this point I know practically nothing about. I have one book (not yet read) and another has been ordered, but I would love to hear from the collective wisdom of BEE-L about methods that are well suited to a hobbyist with no experience hoping to produce just a small number of queens. It need not be the system I should use forever, just one that could be a successful starting point. What do you all recommend? Frank. ----- The very act of seeking sets something in motion to meet us; something in the universe, or in the unconscious responds as if to an invitation. - Jean Shinoda Bolen http://WWW.BlessedBee.ca