What is the process called when a new queen is developed?

The process of developing a new queen is called queen rearing. This is a specific practice within apiculture that involves creating and nurturing a queen bee from worker bee larvae. Beekeepers may initiate queen rearing for various reasons, including replacing aging queens, increasing colony populations, or preparing for swarm management.

In queen rearing, the beekeeper typically selects young, healthy larvae from a colony and transfers them into special queen cups. The bees then feed these larvae with royal jelly, which is a unique substance that encourages the larvae to develop into queens rather than workers. This process is critical because the quality of the queen can significantly impact the health and productivity of the entire colony.

In contrast, swarm formation refers to a natural process where a colony splits to form a new colony, typically involving the existing queen leaving with a group of workers. Colony splitting occurs as part of the swarm process but is a different phenomenon where a beekeeper intentionally divides a colony into two for management purposes. Brood management involves more general practices concerning the care and organization of brood but does not specifically tailor to the development of a new queen. Therefore, queen rearing is distinctly focused and is the correct response to the question about developing a new queen.