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The cells that create a butterfly’s wings wait for their cues in the body of the larva. When the chrysalis stage is reached, dynamic wing creation begins. First the shape is created. The scale cells cover the wings in a well-regulated manner. When the scale cells take on color, the pattern of the wings is created. The cabbage white butterfly is easy to raise, so we used them for laboratory study to determine how the scale cells are arrayed. We observed the epithelium of the cabbage white chrysalis using photographs from a scanning electron microscope and confirmed that it passes through the following stages.
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The same scale cells are produced between the light and dark progenitor scale cells, creating a sequence pattern. The reason for specifically creating two types of progenitor cells is unknown, but one possibility is that the arrangement of the cells is made easier than with just one type of cell. We know that the sequence of the progenitor scale cell is created by the mutual operation of the cells, and that it accompanies cell movement. The pattern is not pre-determined. At present, we have begun experiments to verify this at the molecular level. |
Biohistory Journal, Autumun, 2006
