It is clear from this debate that there is a lot we don't know.  One of the most important factors of the longevity of the queen is the longevity of the sperm she is hoarding in her spermatheca.  Is the longevity of the banked sperm inherited from the contributing drones?  If so, it may be that drones carrying genes for longevity may have an advantage towards the end of a queen's natural life and pass on that quality to their regal daughters and possibly thus their working granddaughters.

My train of thought makes me wonder how sperm can live for up to 5 years.  They must have some nourishment during that time to retain viability.  They are cuddled with many thousands of colleagues/rivals in the queen's tiny spermatheca. Oxygen probably (I'm guessing!) oozes through the membraneous wall of the spermatheca to stop them suffocating, but on what do they feed? How?

Looking at the drone sperm under a microscope, it has the appearance of a crackable whip, the tail being disproportionately long compared to the head (the business end!).  Is it possible that the tail contains the sperm's  5 year food supply?

The Devon Apicultural Research Group (DARG), of which I am a member, is supporting a research project which will compare the spermathecae of productive queen with those of failing queens to see whether Varroa-transmitted viruses may be damaging their cell walls (think leaky balloons).  I think that I shall pass on the suggestion that the people with the very high powered microscopes also take a look at the contents of the spermathecae to see whether anything can be gleaned from the age of the sperms.

Chris

 
 

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