Evaluation of different hand-made semen extenders for improving sperm quality of honey bee after freezing

The aim of this research was the collection and freezing of honey bee sperm, Apis mellifera, as a trail and evaluating different semen extenders to improve sperm quality after freeze-thawing process as a first trail in Iran. Semen was collected using artificial insemination device. In this experiment three different extenders including; egg yolk (TEY), buffer and 0.5% soybean lecithin (TSL0.5) and buffer and 2% soybean lecithin (TSL2), were used. Collected semen samples were evaluated using microscope and then were diluted with extenders. Diluted samples were gradually cooled in a refrigerator to 5°C and immediately loaded into straws and then frozen in liquid nitrogen. Data were analyzed using the GENMOD procedure of SAS software and results were expressed as least square means. The results demonstrated higher (P