Sperm utilisation by Melipona quadrifasciata Lepeletier (Hymenoptera, Apidae) queens subjected to multiple mating

• Autor(a) principal: Lopes, D. M.
• Data de Publicação: 2003
• Outros Autores: Tavares, M. G., Campos, L. A. O.
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: LOCUS Repositório Institucional da UFV
• Texto Completo: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00040-003-0694-0; http://www.locus.ufv.br/handle/123456789/22250
• topic: Hymenoptera; Melipona; Stingless bees; Sperm utilisation; Molecular markers

In most Hymenoptera species the queen mates once but in a small number of species, multiple matings can occur normally. So, in this study, physogastric M. quadrifasciata queens were mated with a second male to investigate how these queens, naturally inseminated and laying eggs, use spermatozoa stored in their spermatheca, when they are mated with a second male. Results demonstrate that spermatozoa of different males mix in the spermatheca of M. quadrifasciata queens and that there is a gradual increase in the utilisation of spermatozoa of the second male, which could be explained by a competition among spermatozoa of different drones over the way in which spermatozoa are stored in the spermatheca.