In message
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> Jonathan KP Marshall of
>            [log in to unmask]
>            Proprietor of:
>                                Taranaki Honey Supplies &
>                                Taranaki Queen Breeders
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writes:
 
>        With Intrument insemenation how much semen should be used to
>        effectively insemenate the queeen? Could someone give me the
>        answer by way of cubic millimeters (mm)? I have been
>        insemenating queens for a number of years now and have
>        recently obtained a machine for measuring small amounts of liquid, I
> would
>        like to know what the optimuim would be. I currently use about
>        7 to 12 drones depending on how effective I have been at scooping up
>        the semen.
 
According to literature and own experience that seems to be the right range. I
usually use one insemination with 8 ul (i.e. 8 mm^3). But there is no general
optimum because it depends much on your goals (how much time do you want to
invest, you many virgin queens do you have and what proportion do want them to
become good, long-living egg-layers,..)
According  to WOYKE (1960, Bee World 43, 21-25) drones yield 1.5 to 1.75 ul
with an average of 1.7 ul (values of 78 drones). Because there are losses
in the syringe a.s.o. you may receive and inseminate about 1 ul per drone.
 
In general, the larger the insemination volume, the larger the sperm transfer
into the spermatheka (most of the sperm is ejected after
insemination/copulation).
WOYKE did single inseminations with 1 to 20 ul semen per queen. The sperm
numbers in the spermatheka increased from 1.39 million to 5.85 milion,
which equals a usage of 20 % for 1 ul inseminatinons, or 4 % for 20 ul ins.
Increasing the dose to 8 ul rapidly increased the number of sperm in the
spermatheka, but the further increase up to 20 ul was substantially ineffective.
 
And, if you inseminate a constant volume, a larger sperm transfer is obtained if
you inseminate twice (e.g.: two inseminations
with 4 ul on different days fill the spermatheka to a larger extent than
one 8 ul insemination.) But obviously, performing multiple inseminations
is more labourous and more risky.
 
You can inseminate as less as 1 ul e.g. for experimental interests. For best
results I would consider two insemination with 8 ul each on consequtive days.
 
For more details, you may consider the paper from WOKYE I cited above.
 
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Michael Haberl                                 Tel: ++49 89 5902-444
Zoologisches Institut der Uni Muenchen         Fax: ++49 89 5902-450
Luisenstr. 14
80333 Muenchen, Germany   E-mail: [log in to unmask]
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