Question:
Which one of the following statements is true for most ants and bees?
Which one of the following statements is true for most ants and bees?
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Recall haplodiploidy: a fertilised egg carries two chromosome sets and becomes a diploid female, an unfertilised egg carries one set and becomes a haploid male.
Updated On: Jul 20, 2026
- Males are diploid and develop from fertilised eggs
- Males are haploid and develop from fertilised eggs
- Females are diploid and develop from fertilised eggs
- Females are diploid and develop from unfertilised eggs
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Verified By Collegedunia
The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Understanding the Question.
Ants and bees belong to the insect order Hymenoptera. The question asks which statement correctly describes how sex is fixed and how each sex develops from eggs in most of these insects.
Step 2: Key Concept or Approach.
Most ants and bees use a system called haplodiploidy. A fertilised egg, one that received sperm from a male and so carries two chromosome sets, one from the queen and one from the father, develops into a diploid female. An unfertilised egg, which never received sperm and so carries only the single chromosome set from the queen, develops into a haploid male. This lets the queen control the sex ratio of the colony simply by choosing whether to fertilise an egg as she lays it.
Step 3: Detailed Explanation.
Using this rule, check each option in turn.
Option (A) says males are diploid and develop from fertilised eggs. This is wrong on both parts because males in these insects are haploid, not diploid, and they come from unfertilised eggs.
Option (B) says males are haploid and develop from fertilised eggs. The ploidy part is right, males really are haploid, but the origin is wrong: haploid males develop from unfertilised eggs, not fertilised ones.
Option (C) says females are diploid and develop from fertilised eggs. This matches the haplodiploid rule exactly: workers and queens, both female, are diploid and arise from fertilised eggs.
Option (D) says females are diploid and develop from unfertilised eggs. The ploidy part is right again, but unfertilised eggs give rise to haploid males, not diploid females.
Step 4: Final Answer.
The only fully correct statement is that females are diploid and develop from fertilised eggs, while males are haploid and develop from unfertilised eggs.
\[ \boxed{\text{Females are diploid and develop from fertilised eggs}} \]
Ants and bees belong to the insect order Hymenoptera. The question asks which statement correctly describes how sex is fixed and how each sex develops from eggs in most of these insects.
Step 2: Key Concept or Approach.
Most ants and bees use a system called haplodiploidy. A fertilised egg, one that received sperm from a male and so carries two chromosome sets, one from the queen and one from the father, develops into a diploid female. An unfertilised egg, which never received sperm and so carries only the single chromosome set from the queen, develops into a haploid male. This lets the queen control the sex ratio of the colony simply by choosing whether to fertilise an egg as she lays it.
Step 3: Detailed Explanation.
Using this rule, check each option in turn.
Option (A) says males are diploid and develop from fertilised eggs. This is wrong on both parts because males in these insects are haploid, not diploid, and they come from unfertilised eggs.
Option (B) says males are haploid and develop from fertilised eggs. The ploidy part is right, males really are haploid, but the origin is wrong: haploid males develop from unfertilised eggs, not fertilised ones.
Option (C) says females are diploid and develop from fertilised eggs. This matches the haplodiploid rule exactly: workers and queens, both female, are diploid and arise from fertilised eggs.
Option (D) says females are diploid and develop from unfertilised eggs. The ploidy part is right again, but unfertilised eggs give rise to haploid males, not diploid females.
Step 4: Final Answer.
The only fully correct statement is that females are diploid and develop from fertilised eggs, while males are haploid and develop from unfertilised eggs.
\[ \boxed{\text{Females are diploid and develop from fertilised eggs}} \]
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