CBSE Class 12-science Answered

Honeybees show haplodiploid method of sex determination. Haplodiploidy is a sex determination mechanism in which males develop from unfertilised eggs and are haploid, and females develop from fertilised eggs and are diploid. This mode of sex determination was first discovered by Johann Dzierzon, a Catholic priest, in 1845.

In honeybees, sex is normally determined by the fertilisation or non-fertilisation of the eggs, rather than the presence or absence of sex chromosomes. In honeybees, the male progeny normally develops from unfertilised eggs, which are haploid and have just one set of chromosomes. The fertilised honeybee eggs, which are diploid and have two sets of chromosomes, differentiate into queens and worker bees.