Sperm reduces female longevity and increases melanization of the spermatheca in the bumblebee Bombus terrestris L.

. Here we present evidence that the male mating products (sperm and gland products) reduce survival during hibernation of queens of the bumblebee B. terrestris . Most remarkably, the inseminated queens are significantly more likely to have melanized spermathecae than their virgin sisters. Although we could not detect a direct relationship between these two findings they are quite remarkable since B. terrestris is a monandrous and comparably long-lived insect where sexual conflict is unlikely to evolve. The reduced survival can probably be attributed to a general cost of maintaining the sperm, whereas the presence of melanized spermathecae in the inseminated queens may indicate a pathogen transferred during mating or genetic incompatibilities between males and queens.