Fascinating new work on a topic of interest to many of us.

> This study investigated ejaculation ability and semen quality in drones reared in colonies with limited (LP) and unlimited (ULP) access to pollen.

> The proportion of drones everting the copulatory apparatus was 92 % for the LP group and 87 % for ULP (Figure 1). In the LP group, 68 % of the drones everting the copulatory apparatus ejaculated and 12 % less than in the ULP group; drones from the LP group had significantly more difficulty with ejaculation than those from the ULP group. Drones reared in LP colonies were physically less able to ejaculate and released less semen than those from the ULP colonies. The two treatment groups did not differ in semen quality. 

> Drones reared in the LP colonies everted the copulatory apparatus but ejaculated less frequently and released smaller amounts of semen than the ULP drones. Possibly, the LP drones at 15 days of age had no semen or were sexually immature and not yet able to ejaculate so that they released small amounts of semen if any. Perhaps drones from colonies with limited access to pollen do not participate in reproduction and die quickly or have a shorter reproductive period. Our results could help explain the reported large differences in the reproductive success of drones from different colonies.

Czekońska, Krystyna, Bożena Chuda-Mickiewicz, and Jerzy Samborski. "Quality of honeybee drones reared in colonies with limited and unlimited access to pollen." Apidologie 46.1 (2015): 1-9.



 

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html