Question

Assertion: The honey bee queen copulates only once in her lifetime.

Reason: The honey bee queen can lay fertilized as well as unfertilized eggs.

Read the assertion and reason statements carefully and answer the question on the basis of the following options.

• A. The assertion is true and the reason is also true; Reason is a correct explanation for Assertion.
• B. The assertion is true and the reason is also true; Reason is NOT a correct explanation for Assertion.
• C. The assertion is true but the reason is false.
• D. The assertion is false but the reason is true.

Answer 1

The correct option is B

The assertion is true and the reason is also true; Reason is NOT a correct explanation for Assertion.

The correct option is B.

Assertion statement:

1. The queen honey bee copulates only once in her lifetime with drones (male honeybees).
2. As long as the queen honeybee lives, the sperms in her spermatheca fertilize her eggs.

So, the assertion statement is correct.

Reason statement:

1. The honey bee reproduces both sexually and asexually (parthenogenesis).
2. Thus, it produces both fertilized and unfertilized eggs.
3. Fertilized diploid (2n=32) eggs generate queens and workers, while unfertilized haploid (n=16) eggs produce males or drones.

So, the reason stated is also correct.

Final Answer: (B) The assertion is true and, the reason is also true; Reason is NOT a correct explanation for Assertion.