Effect of the number of spermatozoa entering the spermatheca on the onset of oviposition in naturally mated and instrumentally inseminated queen honey bees

Many factors regarding the onset of oviposition by honey bee queens have been studied but the results are often contradictory. The purpose of this work was to investigate the effect of the number of spermatozoa entering the spermatheca on the initiation of egg laying, in naturally mated queens (NMQs) and in instrumentally inseminated queens (IIQs). The sperm number in the spermatheca, and the onset of oviposition in NMQs, as well as queens...