August 13, 2009
GFY BUTTERFLY! From National Academy of Sciences: Mark Sloan
This morpho butterfly is male on one side, female on the other. Scientists call such rarities gynandromorphs. The male typically more brilliant than the female is on the left side, with less black on its wings. Gynandromorphs result from a genetic aberration, the cause of which is not clearly understood. They are unable to reproduce. Butterflies are not the only animals in which the phenomenon occurs. It can also be found among birds, spiders, beetles, lobsters, mosquitoes, and other bilaterally symmetrical animals. Among butterflies, the most dramatic specimens like this one display obvious differences between male and female wings. Such specimens have long been prized by collectors.No wise cracks, okay?
Posted by Vanderleun at August 13, 2009 7:24 PM. This is an entry on the sideblog of American Digest: Check it out.
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Mmmmmph.
No wise cracks?
Mmmmmph.
Unfortunate that images like this immediately elicit skepticism nowadays.
Hmmmm. I think I'll follow that link before I go to sleep. I don't want to spend the night having been made the fool of photoshopping,
Posted by: Cathy at August 13, 2009 7:50 PM