Morpho (butterfly)
Blue Morpho, Morpho menelaus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Lepidoptera Family: Nymphalidae Subfamily: Morphinae Tribe: Morphini Genus: Morpho
Species
M. achilleana M. achilles M. adonis M. aega M. amathonte M. amphitrion M. anaxibia M. aurora M. catenarius M. cisseis M. cypris M. deidamia M. diana M. didius M. godarti M. granadensis Sunset Morpho, M. hecuba M. helena M. hercules M. hycainthus M. laertes M. leontius M. luna M. lympharis M. menelaus M. montezuma M. nestira M. ockendeni M. patroclus M. peleides M. phanodemus White Morpho, M. polyphemus M. portis M. rhetenor M. rhodopteron M. sulkowskyi M. telemachus M. thamyris M. theseus M. vitrea … Download high resolution version (807x730, 119 KB)Photograph of a Blue Morpho butterfly (Morpho menelaus) by Gregory Phillips. ... Binomial name Morpho menelaus Linnaeus, 1758 The Blue Morpho (Morpho menelaus) is a beautifully iridescent tropical butterfly of the Central and South American regions. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... Animalia redirects here. ... Subphyla and Classes Subphylum Trilobitomorpha Trilobita - trilobites (extinct) Subphylum Chelicerata Arachnida - spiders,scorpions, etc. ... Orders See taxonomy Insects (Class Insecta) are a major group of arthropods and the most diverse group of animals on the Earth, with over a million described species — more than all other animal groups combined [1]. Insects may be found in nearly all environments on the planet, although only a... Superfamilies Butterflies Hesperioidea Papilionoidea Moths Acanthopteroctetoidea Alucitoidea Axioidea Bombycoidea Calliduloidea Choreutoidea Cossoidea Drepanoidea Epermenioidea Eriocranioidea Galacticoidea Gelechioidea Geometroidea Gracillarioidea Hedyloidea Hepialoidea Heterobathmioidea Hyblaeoidea Immoidea Incurvarioidea Lasiocampoidea Lophocoronoidea Micropterigoidea Mimallonoidea Mnesarchaeoidea Neopseustoidea Nepticuloidea Noctuoidea Palaephatoidea Pterophoroidea Pyraloidea Schreckensteinioidea Sesioidea Simaethistoidea Thyridoidea Tineoidea Tischerioidea Tortricoidea Urodoidea Whalleyanoidea Yponomeutoidea Zygaenoidea The order Lepidoptera... Diversity 633 genera 5,698 species Type Species Nymphalis polychloros (Large Tortoiseshell) Subfamilies Biblidinae Calinaginae Charaxinae Cyrestinae Danainae Heliconiinae Libytheinae Limenitidinae Morphinae Nymphalinae Satyrinae The Nymphalidae is a family of about 5,000 species of butterflies. ... Tribes and Genera Morphini Antirrhea Caerois Morpho Amathusiini Aemona Amathusia Amathuxidia Discophora Enispe Faunis Hyantis Melanocyma Morphopsis Stichophthalma Taenaris Thauria Xanthotaenia Zeuxidia Brassolini Bia Blepolensis Brassolis Caligo Caligopsis Catoblepia Dasyophthalma Dynastor Eryphanis Narope Naropina Opoptera Opsiphanes Penetes Selenophanes Morphinae is a subfamily of butterflies that includes morphos. ... Binomial name Morpho hecuba Linnaeus 1771 The Sunset Morpho (Morpho hecuba), the largest of the Morpho genus, is an equatorial butterfly only found in the lower Amazon and Surinam. ... Binomial name Morpho menelaus Linnaeus, 1758 The Blue Morpho (Morpho menelaus) is a beautifully iridescent tropical butterfly of the central and south American regions. ... Binomial name Morpho peleides Kollar, 1850 The peleides Blue Morpho (Morpho peleides) is an iridescent tropical butterfly found in Mexico, Central America, northern South America and Trinidad. ... Binomial name Morpho polyphemus Westwood, 1850 The White Morpho (Morpho polyphemus) is a white tropical butterfly of Mexico, Central America and the West Indies. ...

A Morpho butterfly may be one of over 80 described species of the genus Morpho. They are neotropical butterflies found mostly in South America as well as Mexico and Central America. Morphos range in wingspan from the 7.5 cm (3 inch) M. rhodopteron to the imposing 20 cm (8 inch) Sunset Morpho, M. hecuba. The name Morpho derives from its use as an epithet of Venus. For other uses of the word, please see Genus (disambiguation). ... The Neotropic ecozone is a terrestrial ecoregion which includes South America, Central America, and the Caribbean. ... Families Superfamily Hesperioidea: Hesperiidae Superfamily Papilionoidea: Papilionidae Pieridae Nymphalidae Lycaenidae Riodinidae A butterfly is an insect of the order Lepidoptera, it belongs to either the Hesperioidea (the skippers) or Papilionoidea (all other butterflies) Superfamilies. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... Map of Central America Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. ... Binomial name Morpho hecuba Linnaeus 1771 The Sunset Morpho (Morpho hecuba), the largest of the Morpho genus, is an equatorial butterfly only found in the lower Amazon and Surinam. ... Marble Venus of the Capitoline Venus type, Roman (British Museum) Venus was a major Roman goddess principally associated with love and beauty, the rough equivalent of the Greek goddess Aphrodite. ...

Many Morpho butterflies are coloured in metallic, shimmering shades of blue and green. These colours are not a result of pigmentation but rather are an example of iridescence: the extremely fine lamellated scales covering the Morpho's wings reflect incident light repeatedly at successive layers, leading to interference effects that depend on both wavelength and angle of incidence/observance. Thus the colours produced vary with viewing angle, however they are actually surprisingly uniform, perhaps due to the tetrahedral (diamond-like) structural arrangement of the scales or diffraction from overlying cell layers. This structure may be called a photonic crystal. The iridescent lamellae are present on the dorsal side of their wings only, leaving the ventral side a drab brown. The iridescence of the Blue Morpho butterfly wings. ... Spheres reflecting the floor and each other. ... Interference of two circular waves - Wavelength (decreasing bottom to top) and Wave centers distance (increasing to the right). ... The opal in this bracelet contains a natural periodic microstructure responsible for its iridescent color. ...

The ventral side is decorated with ocelli or eyespots. In some species, such as M. godarti, the dorsal lamellae are so thin as to allow the ventral ocelli to peek through. While not all Morphos have iridescent coloration, they all have ocelli. In most species only the males are colourful, a fact supporting the theory that the coloration is used for intrasexual communication between males. The lamellae reflect up to 70% of light falling on them, including any UV. The eyes of Morpho butterflies are thought to be highly sensitive to UV light and therefore the males are able to see each other from great distances. Some South American species are reportedly visible by the human eye up to one kilometre away. Note: Ultraviolet is also the name of a 1998 UK television miniseries about vampires. ...

There also exist a number of white Morpho species, principal among these being M. catenarius and M. laertes. An unusual species that is fundamentally white in colouration, but which exhibits a stunning purple iridescence when viewed at certain angles is the rare M. sulkowskyi, while among the metallic blue Morpho species, M. rhetenor stands out as possessing perhaps the most intense iridescence of all, with M. cypris a close second. Indeed, M. cypris is notable in that specimens that are mounted in entomological collections will exhibit colour differences across the wings if they are not 'set' perfectly flat.

Morpho butterflies are forest dwellers but will venture into sunny clearings in order to warm themselves. Males are territorial and will chase any would-be rivals. The native peoples along the Rio Negro in Brazil once exploited the territorial habits of the Blue Morpho (M. menelaus) by luring them into clearings with bright blue decoys. The collected butterfly wings were used as embellishment for ceremonial masks. The Negro (Spanish: black) River, the great northern tributary of the Amazon River and the largest blackwater river in the world, has its sources along the watershed between the Orinoco and the Amazon basins, and also connects with the Orinoco by way of the Casiquiare canal. ... Binomial name Morpho menelaus Linnaeus, 1758 The Blue Morpho (Morpho menelaus) is a beautifully iridescent tropical butterfly of the Central and South American regions. ...

Morpho butterflies feed on the juices of fermenting fruit with which they may also be lured. The inebriated butterflies wobble in flight and are easy to catch. Morphos will also feed on the bodily fluids of dead animals and on fungi. Morpho butterflies may be important by their role in dispersing fungal spores. Divisions Chytridiomycota Zygomycota Glomeromycota Ascomycota Basidiomycota Deuteromycota The fungi (singular fungus) are a kingdom of eukaryotic organisms. ...

The hairy brown caterpillars are nocturnal and feed on a variety of leguminous plants. In some species the caterpillars are also cannibalistic, a trait thought to be a population control mechanism. If disturbed, Blue Morpho caterpillars will secrete a fluid smelling of rancid butter. The tufts of hair decorating the caterpillars irritate human skin. The striking caterpillar of the Emperor Gum Moth A caterpillar is the larval form of a lepidopteran (a member of the insect order comprised of butterflies and moths). ... Varieties of soybean seeds, a popular legume Pea pods The term legume has two closely related meanings in botany, a situation encountered with many botanical common names of useful plants, whereby an applied name can refer to either the plant itself, or to the edible fruit (or useful part). ... This article is about consuming ones own species. ...

The entire life cycle of the Morpho butterfly, from egg to death, is approximately 137 days. The adults live for about a month. Their predators are few for the adults retain poisonous compounds accumulated by the feeding caterpillar - a process known scientifically as sequestering. // In particle physics, sequestering is a procedure of isolating different types of physical processes or different particle species by separating them geometrically in additional dimensions of space. ...

A museum specimen of Morpho rhetenor

Today, Blue Morphos and similar species are reared en masse in commercial breeding programmes. The iridescent wings are used in the manufacture of jewellery and as inlay in woodworking. Mounted specimens are sold with the abdomen removed to prevent its oily contents from staining the wings. Significant quantities of live specimens are exported as pupae from several neotropical countries for exhibition in butterfly houses all over the world. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (874x599, 211 KB) Author: User:Calilasseia, scanned from print shot on 35mm film in 1994 I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (874x599, 211 KB) Author: User:Calilasseia, scanned from print shot on 35mm film in 1994 I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Amber jewelry in the form of pendants. ... Artists can use woodworking to create delicate sculptures. ...

The lamellate structure of their wing scales has been studied as a model in the development of fabrics, dye-free paints, and anti-counterfeit technology such as that used in currency.

Live Morpho butterfly at a butterfly garden in Alsace, France.

Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2048x1536, 1137 KB) Morpho (butterfly) photo taken at the butterfly garden in April 2004 in Hunawihr, Alsace, France. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2048x1536, 1137 KB) Morpho (butterfly) photo taken at the butterfly garden in April 2004 in Hunawihr, Alsace, France. ... Location Administration Capital Strasbourg Regional President Adrien Zeller (UMP) (since 1996) Départements Bas-Rhin Haut-Rhin Arrondissements 13 Cantons 75 Communes 903 Statistics Land area1 8,280 km² Population (Ranked 14th)  - January 1, 2005 est. ...

External links

• FloridaNaturePictures.com Beautiful Close Up Pictures of Morpho Butterflies
• Collecting trips to Amazonia
• Insectia.com: Morpho butterfly profile
• Quantified interference and diffraction in single Morpho butterfly scales
• Darkfield Gallery: Morpho butterfly wing
• Singapore Zoological Gardens' Butterflies at the Zoo
• BBC Blue Sky: Flights of Fancy
• Stembol.com: Morpho butterflies
• Morphidae in online museum - including rare gynandomorph of Morphidae