NEETZoologyPrinciples of Inheritance and Variation
In a honeybee colony, a male drone is observed. Based on the haplodiploid sex-determination system, which of the following statements correctly describes the biological lineage of this drone?
Options
- AHe has a father and a grandfather, and can have both sons and daughters.
- BHe has no father and cannot have sons, but has a grandfather and can have grandsons.
- CHe has a father but no grandfather, and can have sons but no grandsons.
- DHe has no father and no grandfather, and can only have daughters.
Correct answer
B. He has no father and cannot have sons, but has a grandfather and can have grandsons.
Step-by-step solution
In honeybees, sex determination is based on the haplodiploid system. A male drone develops parthenogenetically from an unfertilized egg laid by the queen. Because he develops from an unfertilized egg, he has a mother but no father. However, his mother (the queen) developed from a fertilized egg, meaning she had both a father and a mother. Therefore, the drone has a grandfather (his mother's father). When the drone reproduces, his sperms can only fertilize eggs to produce diploid females (queens or workers). Thus, h