Organisms and Populations — BIOLOGY STD 12 Science — Question

4. Both B and C

Explanation:

Altruistic behaviour is common particularly in species with complex social structures. For example: bees, ants, wasps and termites. Honeybees (Apis mellifera) form one of the most complex animal societies. Within a colony, the single queen is typically the sole reproductive. If a honeybee colony loses its queen, worker bees develop their ovaries and produce male offspring. In this phase, the only reproductive options available to workers are to produce their own male offspring (workers cannot mate, and their haploid eggs develop into males) or assist other workers in reproducing. Under such conditions, the level of altruism displayed by workers is expected to increases the degree of reproduction. It is commonly assumed that reproductive workers selfishly prioritize their own reproduction over colony tasks.