In message > ******************************************************** > Jonathan KP Marshall of > [log in to unmask] > Proprietor of: > Taranaki Honey Supplies & > Taranaki Queen Breeders > ******************************************************** 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. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 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] ---------------------------------------------------------------------