Mumoki, F.N. (Fiona)Pirk, Christian Walter WernerYusuf, Abdullahi AhmedCrewe, Robin M.2022-12-072022-12-072022-11Mumoki, F. N., Pirk, C. W., Yusuf, A. A., & Crewe, R. M. (2022). Anniversary of a beekeeper’s discovery of thelytoky in Cape honey bees. South African Journal of Science, 118(11/12). https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2022/14126.0038-2353 (print)1996-7489 (online)10.17159/sajs.2022/14126https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/88694SIGNIFICANCE: • The laying workers of the Cape honey bee continue to negatively affect the South African beekeeping industry, with more losses suffered in the northern regions of the country. • The reproductive parasites enter susceptible host colonies, activate their ovaries, and lay diploid eggs, leading to colony dwindling and collapse. • Diploidy in eggs produced by unmated laying workers arises from thelytokous parthenogenesis, first discovered in honey bees by a hobbyist beekeeper. • We examine the consequences of thelytokous parthenogenesis and outline what is being done to understand and limit the spread of the laying workers of the Cape honey bee.en© 2022. The Author(s). Published under a Creative Commons Attribution Licence.G.W. OnionsThelytokyCape honey bee (Apis mellifera capensis)Laying workersReproductive parasitismArticle