Generally speaking, insects tend to be dimorphic. There are males with small gametes and females with large gametes, which are essential for reproduction.
From time to time, nature surprises by producing an organism that is a combination of both sexes, split right in the middle.
This condition is known as gynandromorphism, and scientists have just discovered the first gynandromorphic specimen in a night bee native to Central and South America, Megalopta amoenae.
On the left side, the bee is physiologically male. It has a small, graceful lower jaw, a long antenna, and a slender, slender hind leg with less stubble. The right side has feminine characteristics – a shorter antenna, a distinctly serrated jaw, and a thick hairy hind leg.
This is a well-known phenomenon – gynandromorphs have been found in at least 140 species of bees, as well as in butterflies, birds and crustaceans (but practically unknown in mammals).
In this case, researchers led by entomologist Erin Crichilsky of Cornell University were conducting a study of circadian rhythms in M. amoenae and working with live bees from the Barro Island Colorado forest in Panama at the Smithsonian Institute for Tropical Research.
It was a stroke of luck – because studying the gynandromorphic bees that are still alive can help us learn a lot about these adorable insects.
“This phenomenon [gynandromorphism] can provide insight into the evolution of specialized morphological traits such as the morphology of the male genus of breeding parasitic bees, altered morphology of social castes of insects, and new methods of reproduction,” the researchers wrote in the article.
The study was published in the journal Hymenoptera Research.
Sources: Photo: (Krichilsky et al., J. Hymenopt. Res., 2020)
