Gynandromorphic butterfly!
So one of the coolest things ever happened this past saturday. A gynandromorphic Hypolimnas misippus (danaid eggfly) eclosed at the Insectarium!


I have read about gynandromorphy while in college and I am just giddy to have been onsite when one appeared.

A gynandromorph is an animal that is literally half male and half female – directly down the center. This occurs during the development of the zygote when the chromosomes don’t split correctly. Basically, due to non-disjunction, one side of the zygote develops with an X (females are X or XY) and the other develops with an XXX (males are XX or in unusual cases XXX).

The more dramatic specimens are those where the species has sexual dimorphism – so either side is dramatically different (like my little danaid eggfly). If you look closely at the picture above you can see that the line down the center of the body – the right side (female) is lighter in color and the abdomen is a touch longer.
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The underside of the right (female) wing.



The underside of the left (male) wing.

*squeee!*
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Tags: beautiful, bugs