Question

Sex determination in honey bees is XX-XY type.

Hint:

In honey bees, males (drones) do not have a father and cannot have sons, but they do have a grandfather and can have grandsons.

Answer 1

Step 1: In honey bees, sex determination is based on the number of sets of chromosomes an individual receives, known as the haplo-diploid system.
Step 2: An offspring formed from the union of a sperm and an egg develops as a female (Queen or Worker) and is diploid ($2n = 32$).
Step 3: An unfertilized egg develops as a male (Drone) by means of parthenogenesis and is haploid ($n = 16$). The XX-XY system is found in humans and fruit flies.