When every sperm counts: factors affecting male fertility in the honeybee Apis mellifera

Social insect males may operate at their physiological limits, which might explain why they depend on support from their sister helpers and never contribute towards the colony. In social insects, queens require large numbers of sperm to build and maintain their colonies. We tested the idea that sele...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Behavioral ecology Vol. 24; no. 5; pp. 1192 - 1198
Main Authors:	Sturup, M., Baer-Imhoof, B., Nash, D. R., Boomsma, J. J., Baer, B.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	01-09-2013
Subjects:	Apis mellifera
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	Social insect males may operate at their physiological limits, which might explain why they depend on support from their sister helpers and never contribute towards the colony. In social insects, queens require large numbers of sperm to build and maintain their colonies. We tested the idea that selection for extreme levels of fecundity resulted in males reducing investments into other life history traits. We show that exposure of males to elevated temperatures and immune challenges had an immediate effect of reducing male fecundity.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	1045-2249 1465-7279
DOI:	10.1093/beheco/art049