The effects of different methodologies of spermatozoa collection on the number of spermatozoa that reach the spermathecae of instrumentally inseminated honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) queens

Materials and methods adopted for collecting honey bee ( Apis mellifera L.) spermatozoa can be an important factor in deciding instrumental insemination's biological and economical efficiency in controlling mating, particularly in honey bee breeding programmes. Experiments were run to investigate the effects of different methodologies of spermatozoa collection on the number of spermatozoa that reached the spermathecae of instrumentally inseminated honey bee queens. The tested methods of spermatozoa collection were (i) the traditional methodology of collecting semen directly from drones' endophalli and (ii) the "washing technique". Given the particular importance diluents assume in the results achieved with the "washing technique", three of the most frequently used solutions for collecting spermatozoa were tested, namely, Kiev solution, Hyes solution and tris‑buffer diluent. Another variable taken into account was the location from where the spermatozoa loads used in instrumental insemination were taken after applying the washing technique, namely top or bottom parts of the spermatozoa column formed within the spermatozoa collecting capillary tube. The results obtained were compared both among themselves and with others obtained with naturally mated queens. It was concluded that queens that mated naturally generally received significantly more (P<0.01) spermatozoa in their spermathecae than queens in any other treatment group. The only exception were queens that were instrumentally inseminated with loads of spermatozoa coming from the bottom part of the spermatozoa column and collected by the "washing technique" using tris‑buffer as a diluent

Inseminação Instrumental; Espermatozóides, Abelhas

Instrumental insemination; Spermatozoa; Honey bees