Arrhenotoky

Arrhenotoky or arrhenotokous parthenogenesis is a form of parthenogenesis in which unfertilised eggs develop into haploid males.

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This form is observed in some marine invertebrates, beetles, scorpiones, mites, bees, etc.

For some invertebrates it is a form of sex determination: males are produced parthenogenetically, while diploid females are produced biparentally from fertilized eggs. In the case of the honeybee, the queen stores sperm and can lay both fertilised and unfertilised eggs. The unfertilised eggs developed into haploid drones by arrhenotoky.

See also

• thelytoky
• apomixis

References

• Roger I. C. Hansell; Margaret M. Mollison; William L. Putman (1964). "A cytological demonstration of arrhenotoky in three mites of the family Phytoseiidae". Chromosoma 15 (5): 562-7. Springer Berlin / Heidelberg. doi:10.1007/BF00319990. ISSN 0009-5915.