The last ten years have witnessed the shifting fortunes of the fluctuating asymmetry (FA) paradigm (called the fluctuating paradigm by Simmons et al 1998). FA is the small (often < 1%) random deviations from perfect bilateral symmetry that occur during the development of symmetrical traits. The asymmetry is considered to be indicative of developmental instability or the inability of the genome to buffer development against environmental stressors (Swaddle 1999).