This Rare, Mutant Honeybee is Both Male and Female
Published:06 Aug.2020 Source:Penn State
While checking his hives this June, master beekeeper Joseph Zgurzynski discovered something highly unusual. Whereas all the other honeybees in the hive had normal black eyes, one insect sported a pair of creamy yellow peepers that were impossible to miss.
And that wasn’t all. When Zgurzynski looked closer, he realized that not only were the bee’s eyes off-color, but they were abnormally large. In fact, they looked like the radar-dish eyes typical of male honeybees, or drones, despite the fact that the rest of the bee—the abdomen, stinger, and wings—were clearly female.