Post by irisscientist on Jul 22, 2013 13:33:45 GMT -8
Although size can be a good general reference for sexing pupae, this can often prove to be inaccurate even to the most experienced of breeders. Similar to sexing the pupae of certain moth species, there are usually sex specific characteristics of most butterfly pupae, therefore making it possible to accurately determine the sex of your butterfly pupal specimens prior to emergence. Unlike most moth species however, this is generally much more difficult to achieve. With the assistance of some stero-microscopes I consequently attach some images which should help those of you wishing/wanting to accurately determine the sex of pupae belonging to members of the Apaturinae.
Although the below images are of A.ilia, I suspect that those of similar/related species are extremely similar. In explanation, males have a circular portion just beneath the anal claspers. This is separated into 2 equal halves via a vertical line, similar to "⦶".
Females on the other hand lack this circular portion and instead have a "+", the bottom portion of this cross transects the fourth pupal segment, which is directly below the anal claspers.
To better high light these difference I also attached some higher magnification shots of the same images.
Male:
Female:
I hope some of you find this information useful?
Although the below images are of A.ilia, I suspect that those of similar/related species are extremely similar. In explanation, males have a circular portion just beneath the anal claspers. This is separated into 2 equal halves via a vertical line, similar to "⦶".
Females on the other hand lack this circular portion and instead have a "+", the bottom portion of this cross transects the fourth pupal segment, which is directly below the anal claspers.
To better high light these difference I also attached some higher magnification shots of the same images.
Male:
Female:
I hope some of you find this information useful?
