Reproductive quality in drones bred from Caucasian (A. m. caucasica) and Italian (A. m. ligustica) honey bee colonies

• Published in: Apidologie Vol. 54; no. 1
• Main Authors: Kahya, Yasin, Gençer, H. Vasfi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Paris Springer Paris 01.02.2023; Springer Nature B.V; Springer Verlag
• Subjects: Apiculture; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Body weight; Collection; Colonies; Drones; Efficiency; Ejaculation; Entomology; Environmental factors; Genetic diversity; Life Sciences; Original Article; Semen; Seminal vesicle; Sperm; Spermatozoa; Vesicles; White people; spermatozoa; instrumental insemination; ejaculation ability; drone; reproductive success
• ISSN: 0044-8435; 1297-9678
• DOI: 10.1007/s13592-022-00973-y

Many investigations were carried out on how environmental factors affect the reproductive characters of drones. The genetic variation in the reproductive characters of drones has been understudied, however. This research aimed to compare the variation in the reproductive characters of drones bred from two widely used subspecies in apiculture, Caucasian ( A. m. caucasica ) and Italian ( A. m. ligustica ), considering the colony effect. The experimental drones reared under the same spatiotemporal conditions were used to measure semen characters (ejaculate volume and the number, concentration, and viability of spermatozoa) and ejaculation ability characters (ejaculation proportion, ejaculation efficiency, and semen collection efficiency). The results displayed significant differences between subspecies in body weight, ejaculate volume, spermatozoa number in seminal vesicles and ejaculates, ejaculation proportion, ejaculation efficiency, and semen collection efficiency. The differences in the number of spermatozoa in seminal vesicles, ejaculation proportion, and semen collection efficiency were significant between the Italian colonies, whereas no significant difference was found in these characters between the Caucasian colonies. The concentration and the viability of spermatozoa were not significantly different both in subspecies and in colonies. These findings suggest that Caucasian drones appeared to be somewhat fitter than Italian drones.