Author
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Collins, Anita |
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Submitted to: Invertebrate Reproduction and Development
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 8/31/2004 Publication Date: 8/31/2004 Citation: Collins, A.M. 2004. Sources of variation in the viability of honey bee, apis mellifera l., semen collected for artificial insemination. Invertebrate Reproduction and Development. 45(3):231-237. Interpretive Summary: The honey bee is an important beneficial insect. Honey bee breeders select stocks to improve desirable traits such as pollination efficiency and honey production, and sell queens to beekeepers across the U.S. We have determined the effects of different collecting methods on survival of semen to be used for artificial insemination programs. The results of this research will be used by other scientists and queen breeders in performing breeding programs. Technical Abstract: Honey bee semen that was assayed for viability of spermatozoa using a dual fluorescent staining technique was very variable. Temperature of the buffer in which semen is collected had much less effect on viability than the way in which the semen was collected. Washing semen into the buffer did less harm than suctioning it up into a syringe. The highest viability levels were seen when semen was collected directly from seminal vesicles. The implications of these results for evaluation of semen in the development of germplasm preservation and for artificial insemination methods are discussed. |
