Mating and sperm transfer in Apis florea

Abstract

The mating flights of 3 virgin queens of Apis florea have been observed. The queens carried no mating sign when they returned to their colonies. In 2 of the queens, dissected several minutes following their return, spermatozoa were found in the spermatheca. The filling of the spermatheca during mating and the anatomical structure of the Apis florea drone’s endophallus suggest- ed direct sperm transfer into the spermatheca. The 3rd queen was dissected 16 h after mating. At that time, more than 200 eggs were present in the previously empty comb. The queens had 0.48, 0.72 and 1.35 million spermatozoa in the spermatheca. On average, drones of A. florea were found to produce about 0.44 million spermatozoa. So, the queens were presumely mated by 1, 2 and 3 drones, respectively.