Breeding more desirable strains of honey bees is an integral part of the beekeeping industry world-wide. Because so much work is involved in maintaining each colony, the ability to store semen by itself would be more efficient. Stored semen could then be used at a later date in an artificial insemination program.
Honey bee queens naturally store semen for several years.
Knowledge of how the queen stores semen might provide insight into ways for bee breeders to store it as well. We determined the levels of several enzymes that protect cells from damage in several honey bee tissues. The information will be used by other research scientists and by members of the bee breeding industry.