The latest studies of bee colonies, which can include up to 80,000

Question

The latest studies of bee colonies, which can include up to 80,000 individuals, shed new light on what some scientists believe  is the most elaborate social structure next to human beings in the animal kingdom .

A. is the most elaborate social structure next to human beings in the animal kingdom

B. to be the animal kingdom's most elaborate social structure after human beings

C. is the most elaborate social structure in the animal kingdom next to that of human beings

D. to be the most elaborate social structure in the animal kingdom next to human beings

E. is the most elaborate social structure disregarding that of human beings in the animal kingdom

SC16823

https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/11/science/multitude-of-jobs-establish-bee-as-the-master-of-complexity.html

The latest studies of bee colonies, each of which can number up to 80,000 individuals, shed new light on what some scientists believe  is the most elaborate social structure next to humans in the animal kingdom , and indicate that the communal organization of a bee colony is far more complex than previously thought. Ants and termites are the only other animals known to have societies almost as intricate as that of bees.

ArunSharma12 · Answer

Ans: C
The latest studies of bee colonies, which can include up to 80,000 individuals, shed new light on what some scientists believe  is the most elaborate social structure next to human beings in the animal kingdom .

A. is the most elaborate social structure next to  human beings  in the animal kingdom;  bee's social structure is next to human beings.. we need to compare like for like, two structures can be compared

B. to be the animal kingdom's most elaborate social structure  after human beings ;  social structure is not after human beings

C. is the most elaborate social structure in the animal kingdom next to  that of  human beings;  this compares two structures

D. to be the most elaborate social structure in the animal kingdom  next to human beings

E. is the most elaborate social structure  disregarding  that of human beings in the animal kingdom;  disregarding is different in meaning from option A which compares the two structures and places bee's structure next to that of human beings

Krishh9119 · Answer

Can someone please focus on the usage of : is , 'to be' and explain whether they mean same in this context.

lakshya14 · Answer

Generally, "believed to be" is considered a wrong idiom in GMAT.

Kritisood · Answer

This is a question of comparisons. All except C compare the social structure of the bee colonies to human beings. This is incorrect. The correct comparison is b/w the social structure of the bee colonies and that (social structure) of human beings

ChiranjeevSingh · Answer

Here's the   official explanation   provided by the GMAC for this question:

This sentence compares bees' social structure to human social structures and to other social structures in the animal kingdom. The wording must clearly and concisely compare the bees' social structure only to other social structures, while indicating that the comparison as a whole involves all the social structures in the animal kingdom.
 
 Option A:  This absurdly compares the bees' social structure to  human beings in the animal kingdom , rather than to all the animal kingdom's social structures.

Option B:  This absurdly compares the bees' social structure and other social structures in the animal kingdom to human beings themselves. Moreover, the use of  after  does not adequately convey what is intended: that bees’ social structure is second in complexity only to humans’ social structures.

Option C:  Correct. This clearly and concisely expresses the intended meaning that bees' social structure is the second-most elaborate in the animal kingdom. The pronoun  that  refers back to  social structure.

Option D:  This absurdly compares the bees' social structure and other social structures in the animal kingdom to human beings themselves, rather than to human beings' social structures.

Option E:  The phrase  disregarding that of  is an unnecessarily wordy and unclear substitute for  next to . It confusingly suggests that the bees' social structure itself is disregarding humans' social structure. Furthermore,  in the animal kingdom  may be misread as modifying either  human beings  or  that of human beings , rather than  social structure. 
 
The correct answer is C.

Please note that I'm not the author of this explanation. I'm just posting it here since I believe it can help the community.

Paagrio · Answer

So the human being are part of animal kingdom?

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Hello  Paagrio ,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, yes; humans are scientifically classified as animals, as opposed to say plants or fungus.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team

sanchitb23 · Answer

The Spoiler in the question shows A, so according to the NYTimes Article is A correct or C as per GMAT/People's Answer/Explanation?

The latest studies of bee colonies, which can include up to 80,000

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

The latest studies of bee colonies, which can include up to 80,000

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards