The effects of drone age, semen storage and contamination on semen quality in the honey bee (Apis mellifera)

Locke, Sarah J.; Peng, Ying

doi:10.1111/j.1365-3032.1993.tb00461.x

Cited by 53 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Almeida and Soares (2002) observed no significant mortality of semen diluted with green coconut water and held for two weeks. Locke and Peng (1993) reported an initial viability of 87% dropped to 78% after 6 weeks of storage. Collins (2000b) reported 70% to 80% viability of semen diluted with Tris buffer and held at room temperature, 25…”

Section: Affects Of Semen Handling and Storagementioning

confidence: 99%

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Comparison studies of instrumentally inseminated and naturally mated honey bee queens and factors affecting their performance

Cobey

2007

Apidologie

116

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-Instrumental insemination, a reliable method to control honey bee mating, is an essential tool for research and stock improvement. A review of studies compare colony performance of instrumentally inseminated queens, IIQs, and naturally mated queens, NMQs. Factors affecting queen performance are also reviewed. The collective results of the data demonstrate that the different methodologies used, in the treatment of queens, has a significant affect on performance rather than the insemination procedure. Beekeeping practices can optimize or inhibit performance. The competitive performance of IIQs is demonstrated when queens are given proper care. The advantage of selection and a known semen dosage can result in higher performance levels of IIQs.Apis mellifera / queen honey bees / instrumental insemination / colony performance

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Section: Affects Of Semen Handling and Storagementioning

confidence: 99%

“…• C (Harbo and Williams, 1987;Locke and Peng, 1993;Konopacka and Bienkowska, 1995). Temperatures below10…”

Section: Affects Of Semen Handling and Storagementioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison studies of instrumentally inseminated and naturally mated honey bee queens and factors affecting their performance

Cobey

2007

Apidologie

116

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“…Various assays were used to evaluate the success of the storage includ-More recent research raises the possibility that previous assessments of storage success may be misleading. Stains that directly assess viability of the spermatozoa have now been applied to the honey bee [3,14,17]. Use of such stains indicated that lack of motility was not necessarily an indication of dead spermatozoa [15], nor did presence in the spermatheca ensure that a spermatozoan was living (pers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationship between semen quality and performance of instrumentally inseminated honey bee queens

Collins

2000

Apidologie

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ing: assessing semen quality based on spermatozoal motility [12,21], counting the number of spermatozoa in the spermatheca (semen storage organ) of an instrumentally inseminated queen [2,6,9,11,12], and comparing the proportion of worker pupae (from fertilized eggs) to drone pupae (unfertilized eggs) produced by an inseminated queen [6,9,18,23]. Harbo [7] also measured egg hatching rate. INTRODUCTIONThe development of a practical means to store honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) semen would enhance our ability to select and maintain superior honey bee stocks. A number of storage techniques have been tried with some success, using both ultra-cold freezing and non-frozen approaches (reviewed in [22] Abstract -Techniques to effectively store honey bee semen must meet some minimally acceptable level of spermatozoa survival. To determine this level, honey bee queens were inseminated using various mixes of fresh and freeze-killed semen, and were allowed to lay eggs in small colonies for three weeks. The queens receiving all freeze-killed spermatozoa (0% fresh) had no spermatozoa in their spermathecae, and produced only drone pupae (unfertilized eggs). The proportions of live and dead spermatozoa (determined by dual fluorescent staining) in the spermathecae of queens receiving 25 to 100% fresh semen were not significantly different at 27 days post-insemination. Queens receiving 50% fresh semen or more produced only worker pupae (all eggs were fertilized). Therefore, a program to improve storage of semen should only have to reach survival levels of 50% of the spermatozoa to have functional semen.Apis mellifera / spermatheca / brood pattern / spermatozoa viability / sperm storage

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“…The same was found for the harvester ant Pogonomyrmex occidentalis (Wiernasz and Cole, 2003). Queen and male age is also important for AI success in the honeybee Apis mellifera, where decades of bee breeding have shown that more queens survive and successfully produce offspring when they are inseminated roughly 7-10 days after hatching (Cobey, 2007) and using the semen of males that are about 2-weeks old, when semen quality is highest (Locke and Peng, 1993). We obtained further indications of the importance of optimal starting material by scrutinizing the fire ant AI data by Ball et al (1983).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 54%

A technique to artificially inseminate leafcutter ants

2012

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Artificial insemination (AI), the instrumental transfer of semen from the male to female reproductive organs, offers excellent opportunities to study mating system adaptations as it allows paternity to be experimentally manipulated. AI techniques have been developed for many animals, but rarely for ants, where they would be particularly useful as most species do not mate under controlled lab conditions. Here, we describe an AI technique for Atta leafcutter ants involving (1) the collection of ejaculates via induction of natural ejaculation, (2) storage in glass capillaries, and (3) transfer to queens using a modified AI equip ment as used for honeybees. Queens were fixed and anesthetized in a queen holder, after which the sting chamber was opened with two steel hooks, the tip of the semen-containing glass capillary was inserted into the bursa copulatrix and the semen slowly expelled. Sperm was successfully stored in the spermatheca of queens, and some queens produced a small colony as a result. We could furthermore confirm the earlier observations that Atta semen is directly transferred to the spermatheca rather than to the bursa copulatrix as in most other eusocial insects. The technique that we present here can offer novel opportunities to study mating events such as sperm transfer, sperm competition, and cryptic female choice in ants. At present, the number of queens that produce colonies after AI remains low. However, this number will likely increase, as our results indicate that rearing conditions after AI influence colony founding success of artificially inseminated Atta queens.

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The effects of drone age, semen storage and contamination on semen quality in the honey bee (Apis mellifera)

Cited by 53 publications

References 21 publications

Comparison studies of instrumentally inseminated and naturally mated honey bee queens and factors affecting their performance

Comparison studies of instrumentally inseminated and naturally mated honey bee queens and factors affecting their performance

Relationship between semen quality and performance of instrumentally inseminated honey bee queens

A technique to artificially inseminate leafcutter ants

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