Over the past decade I have tried almost every method of queen rearing, mainly out of interest and also to provide photographs for Bee Craft articles.

My favourite is the Miller method as it is so easy both to understand and to carry out. It is suitable for producing one to half a dozen top quality queens and requires no special equipment apart from a few nucleus boxes (half size hives). You only need one or a few hives and there is no lifting of heavy brood boxes. I recommend it for beginners and old hands alike.