Bees’ procreation

The queen bee is not fully developed when it emerges. 3 to 5 days after emergence, the queen bee makes her first orientation flights to learn about the surroundings. After another 3 to 5 days she makes her mating flight. The mating is done at a height of approximately 10 meters.

Of the 100 million sperm which enter the queen’s vagina during mating, six million sperm are pumped into the seminal vesicle, where they are stored. This is surrounded by tracheas to keep it cool.

The drones’ testicles consist of seminiferous tubules in which up to eleven million sperm are produced. The copulation organ of bees differs from that of other insects. The penis is
largely atrophied, and in its place an endophallus receding into the interior of the abdomen ejaculates. Then the drone dies.