Despite possessing two different body halves in both wing size and color, this strange butterfly is not a product of photo editing technology. In fact, it is a hermaphrodite butterfly, or in other words, half male, half female.
It is known that this bisexual condition has a very rare occurrence rate but is not unique. Scientists have recorded this hermaphrodite phenomenon in birds, insects and crustaceans around the world.
The hermaphrodite butterfly has a different body on each side.
This phenomenon of longitudinal hermaphroditism occurs when 2 sperm attach to 1 egg. A sperm combines with the egg nucleus to form a female embryo.
Meanwhile, the remaining sperm will develop without knowing which set of chromosomes is in the same egg. Therefore, 1 female insect and 1 male insect will develop together in the same body.
However, not all hermaphrodites have a balanced appearance like the butterfly above. In most cases, they carry a patchwork of different cells.
