When creating an Element with a ref from inside of a constructor an error is thrown in production mode, but not in dev mode.

Here is a minimal sample:
https://jsfiddle.net/84v837e9/35/

An error, "Only a ReactOwner can have refs", should happen in dev and production modes.

This is happening in React 15.4
render() {
    return <div>{this.props.children}</div>;
  }
}
/**
 * Notice how refs ownership is maintained even when injecting a component
 * into a different parent.
 */
class TestRefsComponent extends React.Component {
  doReset = () => {
    this.refs.myCounter.triggerReset();
  };
  render() {
    return (
      <div>
        <div ref="resetDiv" onClick={this.doReset}>
          Reset Me By Clicking This.
        </div>
        <GeneralContainerComponent ref="myContainer">
          <ClickCounter ref="myCounter" initialCount={1} />