Blot out and backcross: the butterfly’s genetic secret?

Wenlock Edge, Shropshire A controversial theory claims the reason butterflies and their caterpillars look so dissimilar is down to hybridogenesisIt’s hard to imagine a creature less like a butterfly than its own caterpillar. This is particularly true for the peacock butterfly – a blue-eyed beauty blinking through the dog days of summer until it’s time to sleep behind the bedroom curtains.But here comes the peacock caterpillar – like a train made of black polka-dot upholstery armed with great spines, undulating on suckers, propelled by a single idea of destiny behind its blank mask. The last journey the caterpillar takes is alone; it moves away from its writhing knot of siblings in the nettle clump to a safe place to pupate and become something else completely. Continue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Butterflies Reproduction Evolution Insects Biology Science Wildlife Animals Environment Source Type: news