Microsatellite analysis of sperm admixture in honeybee

Abstract

Sperm usage was investigated in an instrumentally inseminated honeybee queen. Her progeny were examined in the first 3 months of the egg‐laying period using a microsatellite marker. Frequencies of different subfamilies differed significantly from one month to another. However, there was no evidence for sperm displacement or sperm precedence of a specific male in the worker progeny. The variance of subfamily proportions decreased over time suggesting that sperm admixture in the spermatheca was incomplete at the beginning of the egg‐laying period of the queen and improved progressively during the first months after mating.