A report just published in Science magazine (March 19, 2010, p. 1443, full
report p.1506-1509) describes competition among drone sperm in the honeybee
queen (and polyandrous ant queen) reproductive tract. Seminal fluid from a
drone will impede rival sperm, even that of a brother drone. Spermathecal
fluid eliminates this effect, so that the rival sperm can coexist in the
spermatheca.
My comment: perhaps this finding has implications for AI of queens in which
the donor drone sperm has been mixed from several drones.
marc hoffman
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