Which of the following statements is incorrect regarding honey bees?

Options

A. Bee wax is produced by abdominal glands of workers
B. Except queen bee all castes are sterile
C. Scout bees perform round dance when food source is located at `lt75m` distance
D. Potential queen larvae are given royal jelly while the rest of larvae are given bee bread

Answer

To determine which statement is incorrect regarding honey bees, let's analyze each option step by step:

1. **Option 1: Bee wax is produced by the abdominal glands of workers.**
- Honey bees, specifically those of the genus Apis, produce bee wax through specialized glands located in their abdomen. Worker bees have these wax-producing glands, which secrete the wax in the form of scales. This statement is correct.

2. **Option 2: Except queen bee, all castes are sterile.**
- In a honey bee colony, there are three main castes: the queen, the workers, and the drones. The queen bee is a diploid and fertile female, capable of laying eggs. Worker bees are also diploid but are sterile females, meaning they cannot reproduce. Drones, on the other hand, are haploid males and are fertile. Therefore, the statement that "except queen bee all castes are sterile" is incorrect because drones are also fertile.

3. **Option 3: Scout bees perform round dance when food source is located at less than 75 meters of distance.**
- Scout bees perform a round dance to communicate the location of food sources that are close to the hive. Research by Karl von Frisch indicates that the round dance is performed when the food source is within 50 meters of the hive. Since 50 meters is less than 75 meters, this statement is correct.

4. **Option 4: Potential queen larvae are given royal jelly while the rest of the larvae are given bee bread.**
- Queen larvae are indeed fed royal jelly, a nutrient-rich secretion from the heads of young worker bees. In contrast, worker larvae are fed a mixture of nectar and pollen known as bee bread. This statement is also correct.

After analyzing all the options, we conclude that the incorrect statement is:

**Answer: Except queen bee, all castes are sterile.**