Journal
INSECTES SOCIAUX
Volume 58, Issue 4, Pages 569-574Publisher
SPRINGER BASEL AG
DOI: 10.1007/s00040-011-0180-z
Keywords
Honey bees; Queen reproductive quality; Mating behavior
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Funding
- National Research Initiative of the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service [2007-02281]
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In honeybee colonies, reproduction is monopolized by the queen while her daughter workers are facultatively sterile. Caste determination is a consequence of environmental conditions during development, during which female larvae may become either queens or workers depending on their larval diet. This bipotency introduces significant variation in the reproductive potential of queen bees, with queens raised from young worker larvae exhibiting high reproductive potential and queens raised from older worker larvae exhibiting lower reproductive potential. We verify that low-quality queens are indeed produced from older worker larvae, as measured morphometrically (e.g., body size) and by stored sperm counts. We also show, for the first time, that low-quality queens mate with significantly fewer males, which significantly influences the resultant intracolony genetic diversity of the worker force of their future colonies. These results demonstrate a reproductive continuum of honeybee queens and provide insights into the reproductive constraints of social insects.
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