The Influence of Body Weight on Semen Parameters in Apis mellifera Drones.

ABSTRACT: The quantity and quality of the honey bee drone semen have a significant determination on the performance of bee colonies. The existence of a smaller number of mature drones to participate in the mating of queens, as well as a sufficient number of drones but with poor quality semen can have serious implications for the productivity of bee colonies. Our study aimed to investigate the correlation between two body weight ranges of drones and semen parameters in the Buckfast honey bee, data that could be integrated into the optimization of instrumental insemination in been queens. Semen was collected from two groups of drones with different body weights (200-240 mg and 240-280 mg). Semen volume, semen concentration, motility, morphology and membrane integrity of spermatozoa were analyzed. The

SUBMITTER: Bratu IC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9785928 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature