OCTOBER
26, 2015
by
Susanna Pilny
An
“extremely rare” gynandromorph butterfly has been discovered in the UK!
Found
in an attraction known as Butterfly World—a center dedicated to pay tribute to and
support conservation of the creatures—in Hertfordshire, UK, the butterfly is
actually half male and half female, as evidenced by its coloring. With the
split occurring directly down the center, one half is black (male) and the
other is yellow with a spot of red (female).
Genes
apparently are to be thanked for this amazing event. Lepidopterist Louise
Hawkins told the Daily Mail that this outcome is fixed “very
early on” as it’s a result of “sex chromosomes [that] don't divide properly”
during mitosis.
The
butterfly itself is a Great Mormon, which occurs naturally from Australia up
to India and Japan. Butterfly World is hoping to have it on display over the
next few days, as it is rather rare—the chance of half-male, half-female
butterflies being hatched is around 0.01 percent.
But
unfortunately, it probably will not live long, as the incorrect division of sex
chromosomes usually results in internal organs that are, according to Hawkins,
“a bit mixed up”. This also means that the butterfly is infertile—so no others
are likely to hatch any time soon.
In
other words: Catch it while you can!
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