Effects of age, season and genetics on semen and sperm production in Apis mellifera drones

John Rhodes , Steven Harden , Robert Spooner-Hart , Denis Anderson , Gretchen Wheen

Adult drone honey bees from 4 Australian breeding lines were reared under similar conditions and examined for semen and sperm production when 14, 21 and 35 days old, during spring, summer and autumn. Almost half (40.5%) of all drones examined did not release any semen when manually everted. For those that released semen, the average volume released per drone was 1.09 μL (range 0.72 (±0.04)−1.12 (±0.04) μL) and the average number of sperms in the semen per drone was 3.63 × 106 (range 1.88 (±0.14)−4.11 (±0.17) × 106). The release of semen was dependent on breeding line and age (P < 0.05), but not on the rearing season. The volume of semen released per drone was dependent on season, age, and breeding line (P < 0.05), while the concentration of sperm in the semen was dependent on season and breeding line (P < 0.05). Hence our data indicate that genetics underpins the maturation of drone honey bees as well as the volume of semen they release and the concentration of sperm in that semen.

Mots clés: Apis mellifera; drones; semen production; sperm

Domaines: Zoologie des invertébrés; Biodiversité; Ecologie, Environnement; Science des productions animales

John Rhodes, Steven Harden, Robert Spooner-Hart, Denis Anderson, Gretchen Wheen. Effects of age, season and genetics on semen and sperm production in Apis mellifera drones. Apidologie, 2011, 42 (1), pp.29-38. ⟨10.1051/apido/2010026⟩. ⟨hal-01003557⟩