Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
(6.25 percent) failed to return, 0.0333 per l ight, 0.0026 per minute of
l ight, or 0.0125 per mating. He concluded that this is a relatively low
risk.
4.2.6 Can Queens Count?
Can queens actually count the number of mates on a given mating l ight?
h is is an important question if queens are in some way optimizing the
number of times they mate by balancing costs and benei ts. Estimates
of the number of mates of individual queens show tremendous range
and variation. If queens are regulating the number of mates, why is there
so much variance? Dave Tarpy let 30 queens make one mating l ight and
then restricted them from making a second l ight. Eight queens, how-
ever, attempted a second l ight and were caught in a trap as they tried to
leave the hive. Using molecular markers, he compared the number of
times queens that attempted a second l ight mated with the number of
matings of those that attempted just one mating l ight. He found no
dif erence in the average number of mates; they were both about 5. One
queen had 0 successful matings on her i rst l ight and did not attempt a
second. h e number of times queens mated ranged from 0 to 13 for a
single l ight. He also compared the amount of time they spent on their
mating l ights and found no correlation between numbers of mates and
how long they l ew. h e conclusion was that queens just make l ights.
Some queens l y for longer times, perhaps because they l y to drone
congregations farther away or have dii culty i nding them. When they
l y through the congregation areas, they mate with males without as-
sessing number and l y home. Some make a second l ight, but very few
make a third. h e net result is a great range in the number of mates and
a huge amount of variation, not expectations for a trait that is being regu-
lated. A more likely explanation is that queens make a sui cient number
of l ights and l y for long-enough times to get enough mates to make it
very likely that their brood viability is above the survival threshold.
One caveat is needed. Jerzy Woyke did show a correlation between
the amount of sperm in the spermathecae of queens that made one
mating l ight and those that made two. He split the group that made
