Mating flights and sperm transfer in the dwarf honeybee Apis andreniformis (Smith, 1858)

Free access article

Issue		Apidologie Volume 31, Number 2, March-April 2000 Taxonomy and Evolutionary biology of the Honeybees


Page(s)		301 - 311
DOI		10.1051/apido:2000124

DOI: 10.1051/apido:2000124

Apidologie 31 (2000) 301-311

Mating flights and sperm transfer in the dwarf honeybee Apis andreniformis (Smith, 1858)

Gudrun Koeniger^a - Nikolaus Koeniger^a - Salim Tingek^b - Athanasius Kelitu^b

^aInstitut für Bienenkunde (Polytechnische Gesellschaft), FB Biologie der J.-W. Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main, Karl-von-Frisch Weg 2, 61440 Oberursel, Germany
^bAgricultural Research Station, Peti Surat 197, Tenom 89908, Sabah, Malaysia

Abstract:

Mating flights of 3 virgin queens of Apis andreniformis were observed at their natural nesting site. They initiated mating flights between 12.33 and 12.50 h. The flight duration was between 19 and 23 minutes. The sting chamber of the returning queens contained the orange-colored secretion from the cornual gland of the drone's endophallus. Immediately after the mating flights, the queens were dissected. No sperm was detected in the oviducts, but spermatozoa were found in the spermathecae. In 2 queens, the spermathecae contained 0.09 million spermatozoa, which corresponds to about 75 The third queen had 0.31 million spermatozoa. The spermatozoa in the spermatheca were observed to be moving, and formed an undulating thread. These results suggest that sperm is transferred not into the oviducts but directly into the spermatheca (via the spermaduct). Seven egg-laying queens of unknown age had between 0.33 and 1.26 million spermatozoa in their spermathecae. The mode of sperm transfer is discussed in relation to the number and sequence of the spermatozoa received from each drone in the spermatheca.

Keywords: Apis andreniformis / queen / mating flight / sperm transfer/ spermatozoa count

Correspondence and reprints: Gudrun Koeniger
E-mail: Gudrun.koeninger@em.uni-frankfurt.de

What is OpenURL?

The OpenURL standard is a protocol for transmission of metadata describing the resource that you wish to access. An OpenURL link contains article metadata and directs it to the OpenURL server of your choice. The OpenURL server can provide access to the resource and also offer complementary services (specific search engine, export of references...). The OpenURL link can be generated by different means.

If your librarian has set up your subscription with an OpenURL resolver, OpenURL links appear automatically on the abstract pages.
You can define your own OpenURL resolver with your EDPS Account. In this case your choice will be given priority over that of your library.
You can use an add-on for your browser (Firefox or I.E.) to display OpenURL links on a page (see http://www.openly.com/openurlref/). You should disable this module if you wish to use the OpenURL server that you or your library have defined.