Subject: | |
From: | |
Reply To: | |
Date: | Mon, 22 Feb 1999 10:21:21 +0100 |
Content-Type: | text/plain |
Parts/Attachments: |
|
|
John Burgess cited Prof. Beaumont:
> 2. There were roughly equal numbers of workers produced from the 10 drones,
> so the queen stores the sperm but uses it equally, but randomly.
A number of studies suggest that a queen
usually stores UNEQUAL amounts of individual drones, but
uses them randomly. This inequality in sperm storage may
result from unequal sperm production in individual drones,
unequal sperm transfer during mating or unequal sperm transfer
into the spermatheca.
> 4. When a swarm occurs, the workers did not divide randomly: they divided
> very much according to their drone parents, the swarm consisting very
> largely of workers from only 3 or 4 of the drones. End quote
See e.g.:
http://link.springer.de/link/service/journals/00265/bibs/7040004/70400271.htm
Studies indicated that workers do not divide randomly, but I think
it is misleading to say 'they divided VERY MUCH according to their
drone parents'. The same is true for genetics and its influence
on task partitioning: Workers from different subfamilies (having
different fathers) may have different probabilities for
different tasks (feeding, comb building, foraging, ...), but
this is far from that mainly or even only workers of one subfamily
perform one specific task.
Michael
--
Michael Haberl
Hessische Landesanstalt fuer Tierzucht, Abt. Bienenzucht
Erlenstr. 9, 35274 Kirchhain, Germany, 51n 9w
Tel: ++49-6422-9406-12
Fax: ++49-6422-9406-33
[log in to unmask]
|
|
|