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Species ProfilesBlue Morpho Butterfly (Morpho peleides)Anatomy --
As its common name implies, the morpho butterfly’s wings, when viewed from above, are bright blue edged with black. Their wings can vary from 5 to 8 inches in width. The vivid color of the blue morpho’s wings is a result of the microscopic scales on the backs of their wings, which reflect light, causing the butterfly to appear a brilliant iridescent blue. The underside of the morphos’ wings, on the other hand, is a dull brown color with many eyespots, which serve as a defense against predators such as birds and insects. When the blue morpho flies, the contrasting bright blue and dull brown colors flash, making it look like the morpho is appearing and disappearing. The males’ wings are broader than those of the females and appear to be brighter in color. The blue morpho is among the largest butterflies in the world, with wings spanning from 5 to 8 inches. Blue morphos, like other butterflies, also have two clubbed antennas, two fore wings and two hind wings, six legs and three body segments -- the head, thorax and abdomen.
Habitat -- Blue morphos live in the tropical forests of Latin America from Mexico to Colombia. Adults spend most of their time on the forest floor and in the lower shrubs and trees of the understory, where they rest with their wings folded, camouflaged from predators. However, when looking for mates, the blue morpho will fly through all layers of the forest. Human observers most commonly see morphos in clearings and along streams where their bright blue wings are most visible. Pilots flying over rainforests have even encountered large groups of blue morphos above the treetops, warming themselves in the sun. The blue morpho’s entire lifespan lasts only 115 days, which means most of their time is spent eating and reproducing.
Diet -- The blue morpho’s diet changes during each stage of its lifecycle. As a caterpillar, the morpho chews plant leaves of many varieties, but prefers to dine on plants in the pea family. When the blue morpho becomes a butterfly it can no longer chew, but drinks its food instead. Adults use a long, protruding mouthpart called a proboscis as a drinking straw to sip the juice of rotting fruit, the fluids of decomposing animals, tree sap, fungi and wet mud. They taste fruit with sensors on their legs, and they "taste-smell" the air with their antennae, which serve as a combination tongues and noses.
Threats -- Blue morphos are severely threatened by deforestation of tropical forests and habitat fragmentation. Humans provide a direct threat to this spectacular creature because their beauty attracts artists and collectors from all over the globe who wish to capture and display them. Aside from humans, birds like the jacamar and flycatcher are the adult butterfly’s natural predators.
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