Butterfly hybrids

Important Specimens for Systematics, Evolutionary and Developmental Biology

Butterfly specialists have long realised that natural hybrids between 'good' species occur in the wild, albeit rarely. Such specimens may often be misinterpreted, and have often in the past been described as new species. However, once recognised correctly as interspecific hybrids, they are highly informative in systematics (eg for inference of directions of character transformation), evolutionary biology (eg in understanding speciation and the nature of species, and in the explanation of shared polymorphisms) and developmental genetics (eg in understanding the action of genes in a genetic milieu with which they are not coadapted).

Interspecific hybrids are, almost by definition, extremely rare in nature. For this reason, we believe it will be useful to make available a collection of images of hybrids, so that evidence of their status can be discussed and some interpretation of their significance can be made. This site will grow, from time to time, under the guidance of James Mallet (Professor of Biological Diversity at University College London, and also a Scientific Associate of the Department of Entomology at the Natural History Museum) and Dick Vane-Wright (Keeper of Entomology at the Natural History Museum).

NATURAL HYBRIDS BETWEEN SPECIES OF HELICONIUS AND EUEIDES (UCL website)

31-Jan-2003 Dr B R Pitkin