How is sex determined in honeybee? Explain with ray diagram.

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Q. How is sex determined in honeybee? Explain with ray diagram.

Chhattisgarh CgbseCGBSE Intermediate Board 2025Subjective· 3mImportance★★★★★

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Figure — The stem asks to explain honeybee sex determination with a ray diagram; the catalog has the exact canonical 'S

Honeybees show the haplodiploid sex-determination system: diploid (fertilised) eggs -> females; haploid (unfertilised) eggs -> males (drones), via parthenogenesis.

Unlike humans (XX-XY system), honeybees (Apis) do not have sex chromosomes at all. Instead, sex is determined by the number of chromosome sets (ploidy) an individual has, a system called haplodiploidy:

The queen bee mates with drones and stores the sperm. When she lays a fertilised egg (which receives one set of chromosomes from the queen and one set from the stored sperm, i.e., it is diploid, with 32 chromosomes), that egg develops into a female — either a worker (sterile female) or, if fed royal jelly, into a new queen (fertile female).
When the queen lays an unfertilised egg (containing only her own chromosome set, i.e., haploid, with 16 chromosomes), that egg develops by parthenogenesis (development without fertilisation) into a male — the drone.

Ray diagram (described, since it cannot be drawn here):

            Queen (diploid, 32) x Drone (haploid, 16, via meiosis -> sperm)
                          |
            -----------------------------
            |                           |
     Fertilised egg (32, diploid)   Unfertilised egg (16, haploid)
            |                           |
        Female                        Male …

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Same / Similar Concept — real previous-year questions on the same or a closely similar concept, not this exact question.

CBSE 2026Set A1 markMCQ
$Q. In which of the following animals does sex determination depend on number of chromosome sets?$
(a) Birds
(b) Honeybees
(c) Grasshoppers
(d) Mammals
›Reveal solutionSolution

In honeybees, males are haploid (develop from unfertilised eggs) and females are diploid — sex depends on chromosome-set number.

Honeybees show a haplo-diploid sex-determination system. A fertilised (diploid) egg develops into a female (queen or worker), while an unfertilised (haploid) egg develops parthenogenetically into a male (drone). Thus the sex depends on the number of chromos …

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CBSE 2024Set A11 mark
$Q. Haploid-diploid sex determination system is seen in ____________.$
›Reveal solutionSolution

The haplo-diploid sex-determination system is seen in honey bees (order Hymenoptera).

In honey bees, sex is determined by the number of chromosome sets. Females (queen and workers) are diploid, developing from fertilised eggs, while males (drones) are haploid, developing parthenogenetically from …
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CBSE 2024Set ANNUAL1 markMCQ
$Q. Haplodiploid sex determination system is found in :$
(a) Birds
(b) Honey bees
(c) Men
(d) Snails
›Reveal solutionSolution

The haplodiploid sex-determination system occurs in honey bees.

In honey bees, sex is determined by the number of chromosome sets rather than sex chromosomes: fertilized diploid eggs develop into females (queens/workers) while unfertilized haploid egg …

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CBSE 2023Set ZOOLOGY1 mark
$Q. The unfertilized egg of honeybee develops into ____.$
›Reveal solutionSolution
In honeybees, sex is determined by haplo-diploidy: an unfertilised egg develops parthenogenetically into a haploid male (drone), while a fertilised (diploid) egg develops into a female (queen or worker).

Honeybees show a special chromosomal mechanism of sex determination called haplo-diploidy, distinct from the XX-XY system seen in humans:

The queen bee mates once and stores sperm in her spermatheca.

Fertilised eggs (diploid, 2n, receiving one set of chromosomes from the queen and one from a drone) develop into females - either a fertile queen or a sterile worker, depending on the type of food (royal jelly vs regular food) given to the larva. …
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CBSE 2023Set ANNUAL1 mark
$Q. Male honey bee are ________ (Ploidy) having ________ chromosomes. (Fill in the blanks)$
›Reveal solutionSolution

Honeybees show haplodiploidy sex determination: unfertilised eggs develop into haploid males, while fertilised eggs develop into diploid females.

In honeybees, the queen mates only once and stores sperm. Eggs that are fertilised (containing both maternal and paternal chromosome sets) develop into diploid females (queens or workers) with 32 chromosomes. Unfertilised eggs develop parthenogenetically into haploid males (drones) with only 16 chromosomes - the mat …

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CBSE 2023Set ANNUAL1 mark
$Q. Male honeybees have 16 chromosomes instead of having normal 32 chromosomes. Give reason.$
›Reveal solutionSolution

Honeybees show haplodiploid sex determination: unfertilised eggs give haploid males, fertilised eggs give diploid females.

In honeybees (and many other Hymenoptera), sex is not determined by a pair of sex chromosomes as in humans, but by the number of chromosome sets an individual receives — a mechanism called haplodiploidy. A fertilised egg (formed by fusion of a haploid egg and a haploid sperm) develops, by meiosis-derived diploidy, into a female (queen or worker) with the normal diploid chromosome number, 2n = 32 in honeybees. An unfertilised egg, however, develops by parthenogenesis (without fertilisation) directly from the haploid egg cell into a male (drone), which therefore has only a haploid chromosome number, n = 16 — exactly half that of …

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CBSE 2022Set ANNUAL1 markMCQ
$Q. Male honeybee is$
(a) haploid
(b) diploid
(c) triploid
(d) tetraploid
›Reveal solutionSolution
Honeybees show haplodiploidy sex determination: males are haploid (from unfertilised eggs), females are diploid (from fertilised eggs).

In honeybees, sex determination follows the haplodiploid system rather than a chromosomal (XY/ZW) system:

Fertilised eggs (2n, receiving one set of chromosomes from each parent) develop into diploid females (queens or worker bees). …
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CBSE 2020Set WK1 markMCQ
$Q. Parthenogenesis occurs in$
(a) Honeybee
(b) Frog
(c) Lizard
(d) none of these
›Reveal solutionSolution

Honeybee — its male drones arise from unfertilised eggs, i.e. by parthenogenesis.

Concept. Parthenogenesis is the development of a new individual from an unfertilised egg (without fertilisation).

Why honeybee. In the honeybee, the queen lays two kinds of eggs. Fertilised (diploid) eggs develop into females (queen/workers), while unfertilised (haploid) eggs develop into male drones by parthenogenesis. This is also the basis of the haplo-di …

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CBSE 2019Set ANNUAL1 markMCQ
$Q. In Honeybee sex-determination and development is through$
(a) Parthenogenesis
(b) Gametogenesis
(c) Spermatogenesis
(d) Oogenesis
›Reveal solutionSolution
Honeybee sex is determined by haplodiploidy: males develop from unfertilized eggs by parthenogenesis.

In the honeybee (Apis), sex determination does not follow the XX/XY system used by humans. Instead:

Fertilized eggs (diploid, 2n = 32 chromosomes, having received a set from both the queen and a drone) develop into females (queens or worker bees).

Unfertilized eggs (haploid, n = 16 chromosomes, from the queen alone) develop into males (drones) without ever being fertilized — a process called parthenogenesis. …
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Q.How is sex determined in honeybee? Explain with ray diagram.

Concept understanding — Sex Determination in Honeybees

Q.How is sex determined in honeybee? Explain with ray diagram.

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