STUDIES ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF INSTRUMENTAL INSEMINATION OF QUEEN HONEY BEES (APIS MELLIFERA L.): SEMEN COLLECTION, STORAGE AND THEIR EFFECTS ON THE ONSET OF OVIPOSITION

The new syringe described was designed for use in both semen storage and instrumental insemination. The Mackensen syringe tip was modified to accommodate a capillary storage in its base, and a syringe barrel with a screw-type plunger was deviced for precise control of the movement of semen. The capillary tubes containing semen can be removed from the syringe and replaced without disturbing the column of semen, by equalizing the pressure in the barrel and in the storage tubes. The capillary tubes can be loaded with enough semen to inseminate several queens.; A simple and fast method for collecting honeybee semen in large quantity is described. Semen and mucus of many drones, everted and ejaculated by hand, were scraped into Kiev diluent in a semen-washing funnel and a collecting tube. The semen-mucus-diluent mixture was centrifuged at 2500 rpm for 10 minute to separate semen from mucus and the diluent. The collecting tube containing was incorporated in to a special large-capacity syringe, and the semen was used to inseminate queen honeybees.; No significant differences were found in the amount of brood produced between 31 queens instrumentally inseminated with semen collected by this method, queens inseminated with semen collected by the conventional Mackensen technique, and open-mated queens (P > 0.05 in all cases). However, significant differences were observed in the onset of oviposition (P < 0.05 in all cases). There was a delay before oviposition by all the instrumentally inseminated queens, which was greatest for queens inseminated with semen collected by the washing technique (P < 0.05). Effects of washing and centrifugation of semen are discussed.; The effects of washing honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) semen and carbon dioxide treatments on the onset of oviposition of naturally mated and/or instrumentally inseminated queen honey bees were determined. The number of days from emergence to the onset of oviposition of 7 groups of queens was as follows: naturally mated queens, 10.33 (+OR-) 0.68; free flying queens treated with CO(,2), 11.00 (+OR-) 0.36; queens instrumentally inseminated with Mackensen technique, 13.8 (+OR-) 1.94; virgin queens treated with CO(,2), 14.00 (+OR-) 0.77; queens instrumentally inseminated with washing technique, 14.58 (+OR-) 0.53; queens injected with washing fluid, 15.82 (+OR-) 1.42; and queens injected with Kiev solution, 17.77 (+OR-) 1.24. . . . (Author's abstract exceeds stipulated maximum length. Discontinued here with permission of author.) UMI...