For those of you thinking about starting II, you really don't need to go any course. The video Sue has made is very good and I think most people would learn from it without a teacher present. I bought the video and run it through a number of times until I had learned most of it. Of course you make mistakes in the beginning, but by going back to the video you usually find what you missed. It took me a couple of days to feel confident doing II. Sue were also willing to answer by email the few questions I had at the time. And I agree with others, properly made II queens will live as long as open mated. I found cheap Russian made microscope on Ebay, a bit heavy and clumsy but optics are fine and it works good. Got a few pictures of my setup last summer here: http://beeman.se/biodling/2005/2005_2-nf.htm -- Regards P-O Gustafsson, Sweden [log in to unmask] http://beeman.se -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l for rules, FAQ and other info ---