(Solved): A male dragonfly lands on the open lid of a paint can, getting purple paint on his legs. Female drag ...

A male dragonfly lands on the open lid of a paint can, getting purple paint on his legs. Female dragonflies are attracted to the purple leg color and the male becomes very successful, producing more offspring than any other male. Will his sons also have purple legs and will the trait spread through the population? No, the purple color is not part of the dragonfly's genetic makeup, so the trait is not heritable and won't spread through the population. No, although females prefer purple legs, they don't have purple legs themselves and the trait must be found in both parents in order to spread through the population. Yes, because females prefer purple legs, the trait will be selected for and will spread through the population through the offspring. Yes, any change in the traits of an organism become part of that individual's genetic makeup and so the dragonfly's sons will have purple legs and the trait will spread through the population.