In biology, describing reproduction where males develop from unfertilized eggs and females from fertilized eggs, as in bees and wasps.
From Greek arrhen 'male' + tokos 'birth' + -ous 'characterized by.' The word literally means 'male-producing' and describes a reproductive strategy.
This is how honey bee colonies work—unfertilized eggs become males (drones), fertilized eggs become females (workers or queens)—it's called arrhenotoky and it creates the ultimate family drama where all workers are sisters.
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