The Pattern of Abdominal Pigmentation Plasticity in Wild-Type Females

<div><p>(A) Abdominal phenotypes of females from the inbred wild-type lines NO1, BV1, and Samarkand grown at 20 °C, 25 °C, and 29 °C. The drawings on the right summarize the plasticity of the different regions of the body according to the color code. A1–A7, abdominal segment number; L, lateral region; D, dorsal region; SAM, Samarkand.</p><p>(B) The pigmentation in wild-type females shows a variegated pattern. (1) Left and right 7th hemitergites of a BV1 female grown at 25 °C. The pigmentation is not perfectly symmetrical. White patches are visible on one side (arrows) where dark pigmentation is observed on the other side. The dark pigmentation follows the insertion of the small bristles in the inner region of the tergite (arrowheads). (2 and 3) Shows the 6th hemitergites of two NO1 females grown at 25 °C. The pigmentation patterns are very similar but not perfectly identical. The limit between the dark and yellowish regions of the tergite is not smooth but variegated. Yellowish patches (arrows) at the base of some bristles are surrounded by dark pigmentation (3, arrowheads).</p>