THE INSEMINATION OF QUEEN HONEYBEES WITH DILUTED SEMEN

The aim of this study was to assess the possibility of queen honeybee insemination with a semen-diluent mixture and to evaluate the rate of insemination and the accuracy of stirring. Queen honeybees inseminated twice with a Hyes solution/semen mixture (1:1), given every other day at 8 mu l per dose, stored as many spermatozoa in their spermatheca a s those inseminated once by a classical technique. The onset and perce ntage of oviposition were similar to those observed in other procedure s. The diluted mixture showed complete mixing of the semen collected f rom several drones.