Hey Ratteler (and thanks to lynn!!!) got it. Here's the sequence: 1) edit your mesh to create the new group 2) create corresponding bone (first click on the intended parent bone)This new bone is a seperate branch at the moment. 3)Then select the bone in the chain you want to attach as a daughter and click on menu Object:Change parent. Select your new bone as the parent. There you are all connected up. It doesn't appear that you can drag and drop in the hierarchy editor. Thanks a million Lynn for pointing me in the right direction.