SCHLEY syringe for instrumental insemination

01 · WHY A SCREW AND NOT A PLUNGER

A queen's dose is tenths of a drop

Each queen receives on the order of 8 to 12 microlitres of semen, deposited in the median oviduct. That volume is not controlled by pushing a plunger with your thumb: you need to turn a movement of the wrist into a minimal, repeatable advance, and that is exactly what the micrometer screw does.

The barrel is graduated and the side window lets you see the column, so control is double: you see what is left and you measure what goes in.

02 · THE LUER CONE IS THE FIT

Tips 5.00 and 50 µl capillaries 1.18

The glass tip and the storage capillary couple by Luer cone, the laboratory standard. That is why this syringe takes Schley tips (reference 5.00) and 50 µl capillaries (reference 1.18), and why parts from one maker fit another's when they share that cone.

The capillary is the working reservoir, where the semen is collected and held; the tip is the last stretch, the one that goes into the queen. They are separate consumables and are replaced separately.

03 · THIS ONE OR THE 2.17

It depends on whether your bench is Schley only

This 1.10 is the syringe of the Schley system, nothing more. If your rig is Schley and will stay Schley, this is the one you need and the sensible choice.

The other reference in the catalogue, the 2.17, is the HARBO 2.0 syringe modified by Schley: it carries the connectors for both systems and ships with HARBO tips and capillaries. It costs considerably more and only pays off if you work, or plan to work, both.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

What comes inside and what has to be added on top.