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fastest evolution seen in butterfly

Royal Gala
edited November 2007 in General
"The tropical Blue Moon butterfly has developed a way of fighting back against parasitic bacteria.

"Six years ago, males accounted for just 1% of the Blue Moon population on two islands in the South Pacific.

"But by last year, the butterflies had developed a gene to keep the bacteria in check and male numbers were up to about 40% of the population."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6896753.stm

Comments

  • da_prodigy
    edited November 2007
    Well, its hard to tell by the article if they actually found and isolated a gene--in which case, definitely evolution. But really, butterflies are insects and insects can adapt and evolve much quicker than most organisms bigger than bacteria.

    Same reason why insects become pesticide resistant. Those with the gene prosper and are selected for.

    The best way to tell would be to collect the butterflies and introduce the bacteria. That would prove that they are (or aren't) resistant and its not (or is) just a boom in the population.
  • Morro
    edited November 2007
    Oh yeah, I heard about this. It's a cool story.

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