--- On Thu, 4/1/10, Lloyd Spear <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> ... According to my dictionary, seminal fluid is semen.  <snip>  
 
I think there is some ambiguity in terminology here.  While the lay usage often treats seminal fluid and semen as synonyms, more technical authors use 'semen' when referring to the complete ejaculate and 'seminal fluid' when referring to the component of semen which is not spermatozoa.  Some authors use 'seminal plasma' to avoid that ambiguity.
 
> Is spermathecal fluid anything different that all the semen stored in the spermatheca?  
 
According to Baer, Eubel, et al (Insights into female sperm storage from the spermathecal fluid proteome of the honeybee Apis mellifera, Genome Biol. 2009;10(6):R67. Epub 2009 Jun 18.), spermathecal fluid is specifically the fluid component contributed by the female which supports and maintains the spermatozoa during storage.  
 
At the risk of oversimplifying, spermathecal fluid is to the spermatozoa while it's in the queen what seminal fluid (or seminal plasma) is to the spermatozoa while it's in the drone.

Baer et al concluded based on protein matching that the fluid in the spermatheca comes primarily from the queen's spermathecal glands.  The report Marc cited implies that some seminal fluid is still in the spermatheca but if Baer et al are correct, it must be a minority of the fluid.
 
Mike Rossander


      

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