Microsatellite analysis of sperm admixture in honeybee.

Sperm usage was investigated in an instrumentally inseminated honeybee queen. Her progeny were examined in the first 3 months of the egg-laying period using a microsatellite marker. Frequencies of different subfamilies differed significantly from one month to another. However, there was no evidence for sperm displacement or sperm precedence of a specific male in the worker progeny. The variance of subfamily proportions decreased over time suggesting that sperm admixture in the spermatheca was incomplete at the beginning of the egg-laying period of the queen and improved progressively during the first months after mating.