Queen Bee storage of sperm

[EK.Bee]

How does the Queen Bee keep the drone sperm viable in the spermatheca for up to 5 yrs?

[Neils]

It's an area that isn't that well understood as far as I know. I think the following linked study if you read its introduction and conclusion gives a reasonable insight. i.e. the queen basically 'feeds' the sperms"

http://genomebiology.com/content/pdf/gb-2009-10-6-r67.pdf


Our data indicate that females provide stored sperm with a complex mixture of proteins that form a metabolically connected network. They also suggest that some essential physiological requirements of sperm have effectively been 'outsourced' and are now provided by the female. In this respect, sperm storage could be regarded as a specialized from of endosymbiosis between males and females, post-copulation but pre-fertilisation.

[EK.Bee]

That's great Thank-you
I knew someone would have an answer