Question

In honey bees drones are developed by means of :

• A. Pseudocarpy
• B. Parthenogenesis
• C. Appo mixis
• D. Parthenocarpy

Answer 1

Answer:

B. Parthenogenesis

Parthenogenesis is a form of asexual reproduction in which an embryo develops from an unfertilized egg cell. In honey bees, this is specifically known as arrhenotoky. Here's how it works:

1. Haploid Drones: The queen bee lays eggs. She has the unique ability to control whether she fertilizes an egg or not. If she lays an unfertilized egg, it will develop into a male bee (a drone). Since it's unfertilized, the drone only has a single set of chromosomes, inherited from its mother. Drones are therefore haploid.

2. Diploid Females: If the queen fertilizes an egg with sperm stored from her mating flight, the egg will develop into a female bee. These female bees, which can be either a worker or a new queen, have two sets of chromosomes (one from the mother and one from the father) and are therefore diploid.

This reproductive system, which produces haploid males from unfertilized eggs and diploid females from fertilized eggs, is called haplodiploidy.