Directional asymmetry reversal of male copulatory organs in chafer beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae):: implications on left-right polarity determination in insect terminalia

During large-scale examinations of male genitalia for taxonomic studies of Sericini chafers (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), we have found that reversals of directed left-right (LR) asymmetry in male copulatory organs are compared to other insects not common. However, such inversions do occur occasionally and they must be considered a significant 'source of error' in taxonomic studies. Our data indicate asymmetry reversal of male genitalia affects only the abdominal segments (genitalia) as changes in asymmetric structures of the head and thorax were not observed. Based on these observations, we believe that this partial abdominal LR asymmetry reversal of terminalia could be due to a local change in the polarity determining LR patterning in the growth zone of posterior abdominal segments as development of these segments begins.