Question

If the queen bee lays eggs that are not fertilized, they will develop into

• A. Queen
• B. Female workers
• C. Drones
• D. Any of the above

Answer 1

The correct option is C Drones

The queen bee, holds the superior position in the colony. The queen bee lays all the eggs in the colony, being the only bee with a set of completely developed ovaries and having life-long fertility. After only one mating flight where the queen mates with a couple male drone bees, she stores the sperm to later fertilize some of the eggs. The eggs that the queen chooses to have fertilized develop into female worker bees and the eggs that develop without fertilization produces male drone bees. This process of formation of male drone bees from unfertilized eggs is called parthenogenesis.