Pic of a 3.7 year queen, spermatheca.

[van from Arkansas]

As most are aware, I experienced Colony collapse disorder, CCD, posted on the thread HIVE CRASH.  I was hand feeding the queen in an incubator but she died last night.


The spermatheca is the holding organ of the queen bee that stores the drones spermatozoa.
The question arose is the queen still fertile after 3.7 years?  The queen laying pattern was so spotted laying one egg in fifty cells.  So I removed the spermatheca and took pics.  A spermatheca that is clear is considered virgin or in other words a clear spermatheca is indicative of the absence of spermatozoa.

I removed the spermatheca intact and placed on the thorax for viewing.  This spermatheca is WHITE indicating a healthy still functional organ.

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Van

[van from Arkansas]

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[Nock]

Interesting.

[The15thMember]

Great pictures, as always, Mr. Van. 

[van from Arkansas]

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Spermatheca of a 1 year old queen.  Her hive did not make it through the winter 2017, Varroa weaken with small cluster.  To small a cluster to keep warm.  I autopsy to determine if the queen was fertile, thinking that my be cause of the small cluster.
Van

[Ben Framed]

Interesting.

Very

[incognito]

This spermatheca is WHITE indicating a healthy still functional organ.

So that makes me wonder what the shelf life of the spermatozoa is...and so many other questions about the fertilization process where things could go wrong resulting in a non-viable egg.


Keep sharing!

[Acebird]

Spotty brood does not necessarily mean eggs were not laid.

[Michael Bush]

>Spotty brood does not necessarily mean eggs were not laid.

Correct.  Usually it means they were removed.

[van from Arkansas]

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Just so ya know what I am calling spotty brood.  Total 3 frames, just like the one pictured.
Van

[BeeMaster2]

Good photos. With a high might infestation brought into a hive  and good hygienic bees, that is probably what caused that poor looking brood pattern.
Jim Altmiller

[van from Arkansas]

Mites, oh yes, a constant battle.  When I open a few capped cells, the mites started running.  So did I to the freezer.