Influence of External Conditions on the Number of Spermatozoa Entering the Spermatheca of Instrumentally Inseminated Honeybee Queens

SummaryQueens were inseminated with 8 mm3 semen and kept for 2 days in nursery cages containing 10 workers. Some of the caged queens were put into queenless colonies and the rest were kept in incubators at 24° or 34°C. The rearing conditions, as well as the insemination conditions, influenced the number of spermatozoa entering the spermatheca. Queens kept at 34° after insemination had 808 thousand more spermatozoa in the spermatheca than those kept at 24° or in colonies.