The sex determination in honey bee is based on the number of sets of chromosomes an individual receives. So, the males are _____ having _____.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Haploid, 16 chromosomes
Option (1) Haploid, 32 chromosomes — Incorrect. Haploid is right for the male, but 32 is the number of the female. A haploid bee has half of that.
Option (2) Diploid, 16 chromosomes — Incorrect. 16 is the male number, but the male is not diploid. It grows from an egg that was never fertilised, so it has only one set of chromosomes.
Option (3) Haploid, 16 chromosomes — Correct. The drone develops from an unfertilised egg by parthenogenesis. So it has one set of chromosomes, 16 in all. This is the haplodiploid system of sex determination.
Option (4) Diploid, 32 chromosomes — Incorrect. This describes the female (queen or worker), which develops from a fertilised egg.
NCERT Extract:
Sex Determination in Honey Bee – “The sex determination in honey bee is based on the number of sets of chromosomes an individual receives. An offspring formed from the union of a sperm and an egg develops as a female (queen or worker), and an unfertilised egg develops as a male (drone) by means of parthenogenesis. This means that the males have half the number of chromosomes than that of a female. The females are diploid having 32 chromosomes and males are haploid, i.e., having 16 chromosomes.”