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Morpho butterflies
Morpho didius Male Dos MHNT.jpg
Morpho didius – Museum specimen
Scientific classification
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Subfamily:
Morphinae
Genus:
Morpho

A Morpho is a butterfly in one of over 29 species and 147 subspecies in the genus Morpho.

Morphos are Neotropical butterflies found mostly in South America, 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.

Etymology

The genus name Morpho comes from an Ancient Greek epithet μορφώ, roughly "the shapely one", for Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty.

Colours

Many Morpho butterflies are coloured in metallic, shimmering shades of blue and green. These colours are not caused by pigment. They are an example of iridescence: light reflects through the microscopic scales covering the Morpho's wings.

Habitat

Their habitat is the primary forests of the Amazon and Atlantic. They can breed in other forested habitats, for instance the dry deciduous woodlands of Nicaragua and in secondary forests.

Flight

Morphos are strong fliers, found at altitudes between sea level and about 1400 m. Morphos are diurnal: males spend the mornings patrolling along forest streams and rivers. They are territorial and will chase any rivals. Morphos typically live alone out of the mating season.

Protection

The adults are usually palatable, but hard to catch because they are such strong fliers. Birds find it very hard to catch them.

The conspicuous blue coloration shared by most Morpho species may be a case of Müllerian mimicry, or may be 'pursuit aposematism'. This means the bird learns that the colour says, in effect, "don't waste your energy, you can't catch me".

Life cycle

The entire life cycle of the Morpho butterfly, from egg to death, is approximately 115 days.

Blue Morpho Caterpillar
caterpillars
2011-08-08 15-53-56-papillon-hunawihr
pupae and emerging adult

Although the adults are palatable, the larvae are not. Their hairs are irritating, and when disturbed they secrete a noxious fluid which smells like rancid butter. The strong odour is a defence against predators.

The caterpillar will molt five times before entering the pupal stage. The bulbous chrysalis is pale-green or jade-green and emits a repulsive, ultrasonic sound when touched. It is suspended from a stem or leaf of the foodplant.

Collectors

Morpho collection
A morpho butterfly collection

Morpho butterflies, often very expensive, have always been prized by extremely wealthy collectors. Famous collections include those of the London jeweler Dru Drury and the Dutch merchant Pieter Teyler van der Hulst, the Paris diplomat Georges Rousseau-Decelle, the financier Walter Rothschild, the Romanov Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia and the, English and German respectively, businessmen James John Joicey and Curt Eisner. In earlier years, Morphos graced cabinets of curiosities "Kunstkamera" and royal cabinets of natural history notably those of Tsar of Russia Peter the Great, the Austrian empress Maria Theresa and Ulrika Eleonora, Queen of Sweden. More famous is Maria Sibylla Merian, who was not wealthy.

The people 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. Adult morpho butterflies feed on the juices of fermenting fruit with which they may also be lured. The butterflies wobble in flight and are easy to catch.

Species

This list is arranged alphabetically within species groups.

Subgenus Iphimedeia

  • Species group hercules
    • Morpho amphitryon Staudinger, 1887
    • Morpho hercules (Dalman, 1823) – Hercules morpho
    • Morpho richardus Fruhstorfer, 1898 – Richard's morpho
  • Species group hecuba
    • Morpho cisseis C. Felder & R. Felder, 1860 – Cisseis morpho
    • Morpho hecuba (Linnaeus, 1771) – sunset morpho
  • Species group telemachus
    • Morpho telemachus (Linnaeus, 1758)
    • Morpho theseus Deyrolle, 1860 – Theseus morpho

Subgenus Iphixibia

  • Morpho anaxibia (Esper, 1801)

Subgenus Cytheritis

  • Species group sulkowskyi
    • Morpho sulkowskyi – Sulkowsky's morpho
  • Species group lympharis
    • Morpho lympharis Butler, 1873 – Lympharis morpho
  • Species group rhodopteron
    • Morpho rhodopteron Godman & Salvin, 1880
  • Species group portis
    • Morpho portis (Hübner, [1821])
    • Morpho thamyris C. Felder & R. Felder, 1867 – Thamyris morpho – or as a subspecies of M. portis
  • Species group zephyritis
    • Morpho zephyritis Butler, 1873 – Zephyritis morpho
  • Species group aega
    • Morpho aega (Hübner, [1822]) – Aega morpho
  • Species group adonis
    • Morpho eugenia Deyrolle, 1860 – Empress Eugénie morpho
    • Morpho marcus (Cramer, 1775)
    • Morpho uraneis Bates, 1865

Subgenus Balachowskyna

  • Morpho aurora – Aurora morpho

Subgenus Cypritis

  • Species group cypris
    • Morpho cypris Westwood, 1851 – Cypris morpho
  • Species group rhetenor
    • Morpho helena Staudinger, 1890 – Helena blue morpho
    • Morpho rhetenor (Cramer, [1775]) – Rhetenor blue morpho

Subgenus Pessonia

  • Species group polyphemus
    • Morpho luna Butler, 1869 or as subspecies Morpho polyphemus luna
    • Morpho polyphemus Westwood, [1850] – (Polyphemus) white morpho
  • Species group catenaria
    • Morpho catenarius Perry, 1811 or as a subspecies of M. epistrophus
    • Morpho epistrophus (Fabricius, 1796) – Epistrophus white morpho
    • Morpho laertes (Drury, 1782) may be a synonym of M. epistrophus

Subgenus Crasseia

  • Species group menelaus
    • Morpho amathonte (Deyrolle, 1860) or as a subspecies of M. menelaus
    • Morpho didius Hopffer, 1874 – giant blue morpho – or as a subspecies of M. menelaus
    • Morpho godarti (Guérin-Méneville, 1844) – Godart's morpho – or as a subspecies of M. menelaus
    • Morpho menelaus (Linnaeus, 1758) – Menelaus blue morpho

Subgenus Morpho

  • Species group deidamia
    • Morpho deidamia (Hübner, [1819]) – Deidamia morpho
    • Morpho granadensis Felder and Felder, 1867 – Granada morpho – or as a subspecies of M. deidamia
  • Species group helenor
    • Morpho helenor (Cramer, 1776) – Helenor blue morpho or common blue morpho
    • Morpho peleides Kollar, 1850 – Peleides blue morpho, common morpho, or the emperor
  • Species group achilles
    • Morpho achilles (Linnaeus, 1758) – Achilles morpho

Ungrouped:

  • Morpho absoloni May, 1924
  • Morpho athena Otero, 1966
  • Morpho niepelti Röber, 1927

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Morpho para niños

  • List of tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregions (Neotropical)
  • Tropical Andes
  • Arhopala
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