- A Drone bees develop specifically from fertilized eggs that subsequently and selectively lose exactly one entire chromosome set afterward
- B Drones develop from unfertilized eggs through arrhenotoky (haploid parthenogenesis), making them haploid with only one set of chromosomes
- C Drone bees remain fully diploid in chromosome number, just like queen bees, but are instead differentiated purely through hormone signaling
- D Drone bees are actually produced from ordinary female larvae that subsequently undergo a later hormonally triggered sex reversal process
Correct answer: B. Drones develop from unfertilized eggs through arrhenotoky (haploid parthenogenesis), making them haploid with only one set of chromosomes
Explanation: In honey bees, drones (males) are produced from unfertilized eggs through haploid parthenogenesis (arrhenotoky). They are haploid (n), having only one set of chromosomes received from the queen, unlike workers and queens which are diploid (2n) from fertilized eggs.
Concept context
Learn about animal husbandry, plant breeding, tissue culture, biofortification, and single cell protein.
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