What are the three castes within a honey bee hive?

A honey bee hive comprises three distinct castes that play specific roles crucial to the colony's survival and efficiency. The queen is the only fertile female responsible for laying eggs, ensuring the colony's reproduction. Drones are the male bees whose primary function is to mate with the queen during the breeding season. Sterile workers, which are non-reproductive females, engage in various tasks such as foraging for nectar and pollen, caring for the queen's offspring, maintaining the hive, and defending the colony from threats.

Understanding these castes is essential, as each has a specialized function that contributes to the hive's overall health and productivity. The other options contain inaccurate combinations, such as including scouts or soldiers, which are not recognized castes in a bee colony. Option D incorrectly lists larvae as a caste, whereas larvae are the immature stage of bees rather than a caste.