The morpho butterflies comprise many species of
Neotropic
The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone.
Definition
In bioge ...
al
butterfly
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprise ...
under the
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
''Morpho''. This genus includes more than 29
accepted species and 147 accepted
subspecies, found mostly in South America,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, and
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
. ''Morpho'' wingspans range from for ''
M. rhodopteron'' to for ''M. hecuba'', the imposing
sunset morpho
''Morpho hecuba'', the sunset morpho, is a Neotropical butterfly and the largest species in the genus ''Morpho''. Its wingspan can reach , but is usually from . "''M. hecuba'' is the largest known Morpho and one may also call it the most interest ...
. The name ''morpho'', meaning "changed" or "modified", is also an
epithet.
Blue morphos are severely threatened by the 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.
Taxonomy and nomenclature
Many names attach to the genus ''Morpho''. The genus has also been divided into subgenera. Hundreds of form, variety, and aberration names are used among ''Morpho'' species and subspecies. One
lepidopterist
Lepidopterology ()) is a branch of entomology concerning the scientific study of moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies. Someone who studies in this field is a lepidopterist or, archaically, an aurelian.
Origins
Post-Renaissance, t ...
[Lamas, G. (Ed.) (2004]
''Checklist: Part 4A. Hesperioidea-Papilionoidea''
. Gainesville, Florida: Association for Tropical Lepidoptera. includes all such species within a single genus, and synonymized many names in a limited number of species. Two other lepidopterists
use a
phylogenetic
In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...
analysis with different nomenclature. Other authorities accept many more species.
Etymology
The genus name ''Morpho'' comes from an Ancient Greek epithet , roughly "the shapely one", for
Aphrodite
Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols inclu ...
, goddess of love and beauty.
Species
This list is arranged alphabetically within
species group
In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...
s.
Subgenus ''Iphimedeia''
*Species group ''hercules''
**''
Morpho amphitryon
''Morpho amphitryon'' is a Neotropical butterfly.
Description
''Morpho amphitryon'' is a very large butterfly with a wingspan of 150–160 mm. The top of the wings is a blue grey metallic colour with a wide grey border embellished by a subm ...
''
Staudinger, 1887
**''
Morpho hercules
''Morpho hercules'', the Hercules morpho, is a Neotropical butterfly found in Brazil and Paraguay.
Description
Upper surface grey green. Forewing with two rows of submarginal yellow dots, of which the proximal are considerably broader than the a ...
''
(Dalman, 1823) – Hercules morpho
**''
Morpho richardus
''Morpho richardus'', or Richard's morpho, is a Neotropical butterfly found only in Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Description
Male indefinite greenish, female of yellowish bronze green. Both above and beneath like a small '' M. hercules''. Forewing with ...
''
Fruhstorfer, 1898 – Richard's morpho
*Species group ''hecuba''
**''
Morpho cisseis
''Morpho cisseis'', the Cisseis morpho, is a large Neotropical butterfly found in the southern and western Amazon in Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and Brazil. It includes several subspecies, but has itself sometimes been treated as a subspeci ...
''
C. Felder & R. Felder, 1860 – Cisseis morpho
**''
Morpho hecuba
''Morpho hecuba'', the sunset morpho, is a Neotropical butterfly and the largest species in the genus '' Morpho''. Its wingspan can reach , but is usually from . "''M. hecuba'' is the largest known Morpho and one may also call it the most interes ...
''
(Linnaeus, 1771) – sunset morpho
*Species group ''telemachus''
**''
Morpho telemachus
''Morpho telemachus'' is a Neotropical butterfly.
Description
''Morpho telemachus'' is a large butterfly. The upperside of the forewings is a silver grey and blue green with a very wide black-brown outer edge. This is also on the posterior win ...
''
(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
''Morpho rhodopteron'' is a Neotropical butterfly known only from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia.
With a wingspan of 7.5 cm (3 in). It is the smallest species in the genus ''Morpho''.
References
*Godman, Du Cane F. and ...
''
Godman & Salvin, 1880
*Species group ''portis''
**''
Morpho portis''
(Hübner, 821
**''
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, 822
__NOTOC__
Year 822 ( DCCCXXII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place Byzantine Empire
* Byzantine general and usurper Thomas the Slav continues his revolt ...
– 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
''Morpho rhetenor'', the Rhetenor blue morpho, is a Neotropical butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Suriname, French Guiana, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela.
Description
Hans Fruhstorfer describes: "''M. rhetenor' ...
''
(Cramer, 775 – Rhetenor blue morpho
Subgenus ''Pessonia''
*Species group ''polyphemus''
**''
Morpho luna
''Morpho luna'' is a Neotropical butterfly.
Description
''Morpho athena'' is a large white butterfly.
Distribution
This species is present in Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala.
Taxonomy
''Morpho luna'' may be a subspecies of ''Morpho polyphemus
...
''
Butler, 1869 or as subspecies ''Morpho polyphemus luna''
**''
Morpho polyphemus
''Morpho polyphemus'', the white morpho or Polyphemus white morpho, is a white butterfly of Mexico and Central America, ranging as far south as Costa Rica. As suggested by its name, this is one of the relatively few Morphos that is white rather ...
''
Westwood, 850
''For codepage, see CP850.''
__NOTOC__
Year 850 ( DCCCL) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* February 1 – King Ramiro I dies in his palac ...
/small> – (Polyphemus) white morpho
*Species group ''catenaria ''
**''Morpho catenarius
''Morpho catenarius'' is a Neotropical butterfly belonging to the subfamily Morphinae of the family Nymphalidae. It is considered, by some authors, to be a subspecies of '' Morpho epistrophus''.
Description
''Morpho catenarius'' has a wingspan ...
'' Perry, 1811 or as a subspecies of ''M. epistrophus''
**''Morpho epistrophus
The morpho butterflies comprise many species of Neotropical butterfly under the genus ''Morpho''. This genus includes more than 29 accepted species and 147 accepted subspecies, found mostly in South America, Mexico, and Central America. ''Morph ...
'' (Fabricius, 1796) – Epistrophus white morpho
**''Morpho laertes
''Morpho laertes'' (formerly ''Morpho epistrophus''), the White morpho or Epistrophus white morpho, is a Neotropical butterfly found in Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina.
Description
In 1913, Hans Fruhstorfer wrote in ''Die Gross-Schmett ...
'' (Drury, 1782) may be a synonym of ''M. epistrophus''
Subgenus ''Crasseia''
*Species group ''menelaus''
**''Morpho amathonte
''Morpho amathonte'' is a Neotropical butterfly belonging to the subfamily Morphinae of the family Nymphalidae. It is considered, by some authors, to be a subspecies of ''Morpho menelaus''.
The genus ''Morpho'' is palatable but some species (su ...
'' (Deyrolle, 1860) or as a subspecies of ''M. menelaus''
**''Morpho didius
''Morpho didius'', the giant blue morpho, is a Neotropical butterfly belonging to the subfamily Morphinae of family Nymphalidae. It is considered, by some authors, to be a subspecies of ''Morpho menelaus''.
Description
''Morpho didius'' has ...
'' Hopffer, 1874 – giant blue morpho – or as a subspecies of ''M. menelaus''
**''Morpho godarti
''Morpho godarti'', or Godart's morpho, is a Neotropical butterfly found in Peru and Bolivia.
Etymology
The butterfly was named to honour the French entomologist Jean Baptiste Godart
Jean-Baptiste Godart (25 November 1775 – 27 July 182 ...
'' (Guérin-Méneville, 1844) – Godart's morpho – or as a subspecies of ''M. menelaus''
**''Morpho menelaus
The Menelaus blue morpho (''Morpho menelaus'') is one of thirty species of butterfly in the subfamily Morphinae. Its wingspan is approximately , and its dorsal forewings and hindwings are a bright, iridescent blue edged with black, while the ven ...
'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – Menelaus blue morpho
Subgenus ''Morpho''
*Species group ''deidamia''
**''Morpho deidamia
''Morpho deidamia'', the Deidamia morpho, is a Neotropical butterfly. It is found in Panama, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Suriname, Bolivia, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and Brazil. It is a species group, which may be, or may not be several spe ...
'' (Hübner, 819 – 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
''Morpho peleides'', the Peleides blue morpho, common morpho or the emperor is an Iridescence, iridescent tropical butterfly found in Mexico, Central America, northern South America, Paraguay and Trinidad.
Most authorities believe that ''peleid ...
'' Kollar, 1850 – Peleides blue morpho, common morpho, or the emperor
*Species group ''achilles''
**''Morpho achilles
''Morpho achilles'', the Achilles morpho, blue-banded morpho, or banded blue morpho, is a Neotropical butterfly.
Etymology
The genus name ''Morpho'' comes from the Greek epithet of Aphrodite, goddess of love. Achilles was a Greek hero of the Tro ...
'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – Achilles morpho
Ungrouped:
*'' Morpho absoloni'' May, 1924
*'' Morpho athena'' Otero, 1966
*'' Morpho niepelti'' Röber, 1927
Coloration
![Morpho sulkowskyi wings](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Morpho_sulkowskyi_wings.jpg)
Many morpho butterflies are colored in metallic, shimmering shades of blues and greens. These colors are not a result of
pigmentation
A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compoun ...
, but are an example of
iridescence through
structural coloration
Structural coloration in animals, and a few plants, is the production of colour by microscopically structured surfaces fine enough to interfere with visible light instead of pigments, although some structural coloration occurs in combination wi ...
. Specifically, the microscopic scales covering the morpho's wings
reflect incident light repeatedly at successive layers, leading to
interference
Interference is the act of interfering, invading, or poaching. Interference may also refer to:
Communications
* Interference (communication), anything which alters, modifies, or disrupts a message
* Adjacent-channel interference, caused by extr ...
effects that depend on both wavelength and angle of incidence/observance. Thus, the colors appear to vary with viewing angle, but they are surprisingly uniform, perhaps due to the tetrahedral (diamond-like) structural arrangement of the scales or diffraction from overlying cell layers. The wide-angle blue reflection property can be explained by exploring the nanostructures in the scales of the morpho butterfly wings.
These optically active structures integrate three design principles leading to the wide-angle reflection: Christmas tree-like shaped ridges, alternating lamellae layers (or "branches"), and a small height offset between neighboring ridges. The reflection spectrum is found to be broad (about 90 nm) for alternating layers and can be controlled by varying the design pattern. The Christmas tree-like pattern helps to reduce the directionality of the reflectance by creating an impedance matching for blue wavelengths. In addition, the height offset between neighboring ridges increases the intensity of reflection for a wide range of angles. This structure may be likened to a
photonic crystal
A photonic crystal is an optical nanostructure in which the refractive index changes periodically. This affects the propagation of light in the same way that the structure of natural crystals gives rise to X-ray diffraction and that the atomic ...
. The lamellate structure of their wing scales has been studied as a model in the development of
biomimetic
Biomimetics or biomimicry is the emulation of the models, systems, and elements of nature for the purpose of solving complex human problems. The terms "biomimetics" and "biomimicry" are derived from grc, βίος (''bios''), life, and μίμησ ...
fabrics, dye-free paints, and anticounterfeit technology used in currency.
The
iridescent lamellae are only present on the dorsal sides of their wings, leaving the ventral sides brown.
The ventral side is decorated with
ocelli
A simple eye (sometimes called a pigment pit) refers to a form of eye or an optical arrangement composed of a single lens and without an elaborate retina such as occurs in most vertebrates. In this sense "simple eye" is distinct from a multi-l ...
(eyespots). In some species, such as ''
M. godarti'', the dorsal lamellae are so thin that ventral ocelli can peek through. While not all morphos have iridescent coloration, they all have ocelli. In most species, only the males are colorful, 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
ultraviolet
Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 PHz) to 400 nm (750 THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation ...
. The eyes of morpho butterflies are thought to be highly sensitive to UV light, so the males are able to see each other from great distances. Some South American species are reportedly visible to the human eye up to one kilometer away.
Also, a number of other species exist which are tawny orange or dark brown (for instance ''
M. hecuba'' and ''
M. telemachus''). Some species are white, principal among these being ''
M. catenarius'' and ''
M. laertes''. An unusual species, fundamentally white in coloration, but which exhibits a stunning
pearlescent
Iridescence (also known as goniochromism) is the phenomenon of certain surfaces that appear to gradually change color as the angle of view or the angle of illumination changes. Examples of iridescence include soap bubbles, feathers, butterf ...
purple and teal iridescence when viewed at certain angles, is the rare ''
M. sulkowskyi''. Some Andean species are small and delicate (''
M. lympharis''). Among the metallic blue ''Morpho'' species,
''M. rhetenor'' stands out as the most iridescent of all, with
''M. cypris'' a close second. Indeed, ''M. cypris'' is notable in that specimens mounted in entomological collections exhibit color differences across the wings if they are not 'set' perfectly flat. Many species, like
M. cypris and
M. rhetenor helena have a white stripe pattern on their colored blue wings as well.
Celebrated author and lepidopterist
Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (russian: link=no, Владимир Владимирович Набоков ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian-American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Bor ...
described their appearance as "shimmering light-blue mirrors".
Sexual dimorphism
The blue morpho species exhibit
sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most an ...
. In some species (for instance ''M.adonis'', ''M. eugenia'', ''M. aega'', ''M. cypris'', and ''M. rhetenor''), only the males are iridescent blue; the females are
disruptively colored brown and yellow. In other species (for instance ''M. anaxibia'', ''M. godarti'', ''M. didius'', ''M. amathonte'', and ''M. deidamia''), the females are partially iridescent, but less blue than the males.
Habitat
![Atlantic Forest](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Atlantic_Forest.jpg)
''Morpho'' butterflies inhabit the
primary forest
An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological feature ...
s of the
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
and
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
. They also adapted to breed in a wide variety of other forested habitats – for instance, the dry
deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...
woodland
A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...
s of
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...
and
secondary forests.
''Morphos'' are found at
altitude
Altitude or height (also sometimes known as depth) is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context ...
s between
sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...
and about .
Biology
*''Morpho''s are
diurnal, as males spend the mornings patrolling along the courses of forest streams and rivers. They are territorial and chase any rivals. ''Morpho''s typically live alone, excluding in the mating season.
*The genus ''Morpho'' is palatable, but some species (such as ''
M. amathonte'') are very strong fliers; birds—even species which are specialized for catching butterflies on the wing—find it very hard to catch them. The conspicuous blue coloration shared by most ''Morpho'' species may be a case of
Müllerian mimicry
Müllerian mimicry is a natural phenomenon in which two or more well-defended species, often foul-tasting and sharing common predators, have come to mimic each other's honest warning signals, to their mutual benefit. The benefit to Mülleria ...
,
or may be 'pursuit aposematism'.
*The eyespots on the undersides of the wings of both males and females may be a form of
automimicry
In zoology, automimicry, Browerian mimicry, or intraspecific mimicry, is a form of mimicry in which the same species of animal is imitated. There are two different forms.
In one form, first described by Lincoln Brower in 1967, weakly-defended m ...
in which a spot on the body of an animal resembles an eye of a different animal to deceive potential predator or prey species, to draw a predator's attention away from the most vulnerable body parts, or to appear as an inedible or even dangerous animal.
*Predators include
royal flycatcher
The royal flycatchers are a genus, ''Onychorhynchus'', of passerine birds in the family Tityridae.
Names
The specific name (zoology), specific epithet of the type species, ''coronatus'', and the common name of all the species in this genus, ro ...
s,
jacamar
The jacamars are a family, Galbulidae, of near passerine birds from tropical South and Central America, extending up to Mexico. The family contains five genera and 18 species. The family is closely related to the puffbirds, another Neotropical f ...
s and other insectivorous birds, frogs, and lizards.
Behavior
''Morpho''s have a very distinctive, slow, bouncy flight pattern due to the wing area being enormous relative to the body size.
Life cycle
The entire life cycle of the morpho butterfly, from egg to death, is about 115 days.
![2011-08-08 15-53-56-papillon-hunawihr](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/2011-08-08_15-53-56-papillon-hunawihr.jpg)
The larvae hatch from pale-green, dewdrop-like eggs. The caterpillars have reddish-brown bodies with bright lime-green or yellow patches on their backs. Its hairs are irritating to human skin, and when disturbed it secretes a fluid that smells like rancid butter from eversible glands on the thorax. The strong odor is a defense against predators. They feed on a variety of plants. The caterpillar molts five times before entering the
pupa
A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in thei ...
l 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 food plant.
[Fruhstorfer, H. (1913)]
"Family: Morphidae"
pp. 333–356 in A. Seitz (editor), ''Macrolepidoptera of the World'', vol. 5. Stuttgart: Alfred Kernen.
The adults live for about two to three weeks. They feed on the fluids of fermenting fruit, decomposing animals, tree sap, fungi, and nutrient-rich mud.
Blue Morpho Butterfly (''Morpho peleides'')
Rainforest Alliance. Retrieved on 2011-10-17. They are poisonous to predators due to toxins they sequestered from plants on which they fed as caterpillars.
The more common blue morphos are reared ''en masse'' in commercial breeding programs. The iridescent wings are used in the manufacture of jewelry
Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry ( U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a w ...
and as inlay in woodworking
Woodworking is the skill of making items from wood, and includes cabinet making (cabinetry and furniture), wood carving, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning.
History
Along with stone, clay and animal parts, wood was one of the first mate ...
. Papered specimens are sold with the abdomen removed to prevent its oily contents from staining the wings. Significant numbers of live specimens are exported as pupae from several Neotropical countries for exhibition in butterfly houses. Unfortunately, due to their irregular flight pattern and size, their wings are frequently damaged when in captivity.
Host plants
''Morpho'' larvae, variously according to species and region, feed on Leguminosae, Gramineae
Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns and ...
, Canellaceae
The Canellaceae are a family of flowering plants in the order Canellales.Walter S. Judd, Christopher S. Campbell, Elizabeth A. Kellogg, Peter F. Stevens, and Michael J. Donoghue. 2008. ''Plant Systematics: A Phylogenetic Approach'', Third Edition ...
, Guttiferae
The Clusiaceae or Guttiferae Juss. (1789) (''nom. alt. et cons.'' = alternative and valid name) are a family of plants including 13 genera and ca 750 species. Several former members of Clusiacae are now placed in Calophyllaceae and Hypericacea ...
, Erythroxylaceae
Erythroxylaceae (the coca family) is a family of flowering trees and shrubs consisting of 4 genera and 271 species. The four genera are ''Aneulophus'' Benth., ''Erythroxylum'' P.Browne, ''Nectaropetalum'' Engl., and ''Pinacopodium'' Exell & Mend ...
, Myrtaceae, Moraceae
The Moraceae — often called the mulberry family or fig family — are a family of flowering plants comprising about 38 genera and over 1100 species. Most are widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, less so in temperate climates; however ...
, Lauraceae, Sapindaceae, Rhamnaceae, Euphorbiaceae
Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of a genus in the family. Most spurges, such as '' Euphorbia paralias'', are herbs, but some, ...
, Musaceae, Palmae
The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm tree ...
, Menispermaceae
Menispermaceae (botanical Latin: 'moonseed family' from Greek ''mene'' 'crescent moon' and ''sperma'' 'seed') is a family of flowering plants. The alkaloid tubocurarine, a neuromuscular blocker and the active ingredient in the 'tube curare' form ...
, Tiliaceae
Tiliaceae () is a family of flowering plants. It is not a part of the APG, APG II and APG III classifications, being sunk in Malvaceae mostly as the subfamilies Tilioideae, Brownlowioideae and Grewioideae, but has an extensive historical record o ...
, Bignoniaceae
Bignoniaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Lamiales commonly known as the bignonias or trumpetvines.Vernon H. Heywood, Richard K. Brummitt, Ole Seberg, and Alastair Culham. ''Flowering Plant Families of the World''. Firefly Book ...
, and Menispermaceae
Menispermaceae (botanical Latin: 'moonseed family' from Greek ''mene'' 'crescent moon' and ''sperma'' 'seed') is a family of flowering plants. The alkaloid tubocurarine, a neuromuscular blocker and the active ingredient in the 'tube curare' form ...
.
According to Penz and DeVries the ancestral diet of larval Satyrinae is Poaceae or other monocots
Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, ( Lilianae '' sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are grass and grass-like flowering plants (angiosperms), the seeds of which typically contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. They constitute one of ...
. Many morphos have switched to dicots on several occasions during their evolutionary history, but basal species have retained the monocot diets.
Collectors
Morpho butterflies, often very expensive, have always been prized by extremely wealthy collectors. Famous collections include those of the London jeweler Dru Drury
Dru Drury (4 February 1724 – 15 December 1803) was a British collector of natural history specimens and an entomologist. He had specimens collected from across the world through a network of ship's officers and collectors including Henry Sme ...
and the Dutch merchant Pieter Teyler van der Hulst
Pieter Teyler van der Hulst (25 March 1702 – 8 April 1778) was a wealthy Dutch Mennonite merchant and banker, who died childless, leaving a legacy of two million florins (in today's terms: about EUR 80 million) to the pursuit of religion, art ...
, the Paris diplomat Georges Rousseau-Decelle, the financier Walter Rothschild
Lionel Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild, Baron de Rothschild, (8 February 1868 – 27 August 1937) was a British banker, politician, zoologist and soldier, who was a member of the Rothschild family. As a Zionist leader, he was presen ...
, the Romanov Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia
Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia (russian: Великий князь Никола́й Миха́йлович; 26 April Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._14_April.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old ...
and the, English and German respectively, businessmen James John Joicey
James John Joicey FES (28 December 1870 – 10 March 1932) was an English amateur entomologist, who assembled an extensive collection of Lepidoptera in his private research museum, called the Hill Museum, in Witley, Surrey. Hi ...
and Curt Eisner
Curt Eisner (April 28, 1890 in Zabrze – December 30, 1981 in The Hague) was a German entomologist who specialised in snow butterflies or Parnassinae. His collections of Parnassinae are in Naturalis, in Leiden, and his Ornithoptera and Morp ...
. 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
Ulrika Eleonora or Ulrica Eleanor (23 January 1688 – 24 November 1741), known as Ulrika Eleonora the Younger, was Queen of Sweden, reigning in her own right from 5 December 1718 until her abdication on 29 February 1720 in favour of her husband ...
. More famous is Maria Sibylla Merian
Maria Sibylla Merian (2 April 164713 January 1717) was a German naturalist and scientific illustrator. She was one of the earliest European naturalists to observe insects directly. Merian was a descendant of the Frankfurt branch of the Swiss M ...
, who was not wealthy.
The people along the Rio Negro in Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
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.
Gallery
File:Morpho didius Male Ventre MHNT.jpg, ''M. didius'' – ventral side: Predatory birds aim their attack at the most prominent feature, the ocelli, missing the body entirely.
File:Bluemorphobutterfly.jpg, '' M. peleides'', note the symmetric notches left by a bird beak
File:White Morpho wings closed.JPG, '' M. polyphemus'', one of several "white morpho" species
File:Morpho rhetenor rhetenor MHNT dos.jpg, '' M. rhetenor'' – this museum specimen is used for education, but thousands are killed for domestic displays, sold to tourists or in gift shops.
File:Morphobutterfly.jpg, '' M. richardus'' sunning itself for warmth
File:Morpho hecuba hecuba MHNT dos.jpg, '' M. hecuba'', the largest morpho, with a wingspan of up to
File:MorphoherculesandMorphothamyrisSizecomparison.JPG, ''M. hecuba'' size comparison with ''M. thamyris'' (''M. portis'')
File:Morpho butterfly with wings closed, Corcovado, Costa Rica, Dec 2014.jpg, The closed wings of this morpho butterfly are damaged, allowing some of the blue to show.
Illustrations
File:MorphoAchillesMerian.jpg, Maria Sibylla Merian
Maria Sibylla Merian (2 April 164713 January 1717) was a German naturalist and scientific illustrator. She was one of the earliest European naturalists to observe insects directly. Merian was a descendant of the Frankfurt branch of the Swiss M ...
''Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium'' 1705
File:Cramer&Stoll-uitlandsche kapellen vol. 1- plate 027.jpg, Pieter Cramer Pieter Cramer (21 May 1721 (baptized) – 28 September 1776), was a wealthy Dutch merchant in linen and Spanish wool, remembered as an entomologist. Cramer was the director of the Zealand Society, a scientific society located in Flushing, and a mem ...
and Caspar Stoll
Caspar Stoll (Hesse-Kassel, probably between 1725 and 1730 – Amsterdam, December 1791) was a naturalist and entomologist, best known for the completion of ''De Uitlandsche Kapellen'', a work on butterflies begun by Pieter Cramer. He also publi ...
''De Uitlandsche Kapellen'' 1775–1782
File:Cramer&Stoll-uitlandsche kapellen vol. 1- plate 028.jpg, Pieter Cramer and Caspar Stoll'' De Uitlandsche Kapellen'' 1775–1782
File:ShawNaturalists MiscellanyAchilles.jpg, George Shaw George Shaw may refer to:
* George Shaw (biologist) (1751–1813), English botanist and zoologist
* George B. Shaw (1854–1894), U.S. Representative from Wisconsin
* George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950), Irish playwright
* George C. Shaw (1866–196 ...
and Frederick Polydore Nodder
Frederick Polydore Nodder (fl. 1770 – 1801) was an English illustrator, engraver and painter.
Nodder illustrated George Shaw's periodical ''The Naturalist's Miscellany''. He also helped Joseph Banks prepare the ''Banks' Florilegium'' and co ...
''The Naturalist's Miscellany'' 1789–1813
File:Hubner1821SammlExotSchmett2Plate73.jpg, Hübner ''Sammlung exotischer Schmetterlinge'' Augsburg 806-1841File:LucasMorphomenelaus.jpg, Hippolyte Lucas
Pierre-Hippolyte Lucas (17 January 1814 – 5 July 1899) was a French entomologist.
Lucas was an assistant- naturalist at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle. From 1839 to 1842 he studied fauna as part of the scientific commission on the e ...
''Histoire Naturelle des Lepidopteres Exotiques'' Paris,1835.
File:NovaraExpZoologischeTheilLepidopteraAtlasTaf63.jpg, Cajetan
Cajetan and Kajetan is the Anglicized and Germanized form of the Italian given name Gaetano. People with this name include:
* Thomas Cajetan (1469–1534), Italian Dominican theologian, cardinal, and opponent of Martin Luther
* Saint Cajetan (Gaet ...
and Rudolf Felder
Rudolf Felder (2 May 1842 in Vienna – 29 March 1871 in Vienna) was an Austrian jurist and entomologist. He was mainly interested in Lepidoptera, amassing, with his father, Cajetan Felder, a huge collection.
Works
*with Cajetan Felder, Lepido ...
''Reise der Österreichischen Fregatte Novara um die Erde in den Jahren 1857, 1858, 1859''
File:Biolcam.jpg, Frederick DuCane Godman
Frederick DuCane Godman DCL FRS FLS FGS FRGS FES FZS MRI FRHS (15 January 1834 – 19 February 1919) was an English lepidopterist, entomologist and ornithologist. He was one of the twenty founding members of the British Ornithologists' ...
and Osbert Salvin
Osbert Salvin FRS (25 February 1835 – 1 June 1898) was an English naturalist, ornithologist, and herpetologist best known for co-authoring ''Biologia Centrali-Americana'' (1879–1915) with Frederick DuCane Godman. This was a 52 volume ency ...
''Biologia Centrali-Americana'' 1879–1915
File:SeitzFA2.jpg, Adalbert Seitz
Friedrich Joseph Adalbert Seitz, (24 February 1860 in Mainz – 5 March 1938 in Darmstadt) was a German physician and entomologist who specialised in Lepidoptera. He was a director of the Frankfurt zoo from 1893 to 1908 and is best known for e ...
''Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde'' 1860–1938
See also
* (Neotropical)
*Tropical Andes
The Tropical Andes is northern of the three climate-delineated parts of the Andes, the others being the Dry Andes and the Wet Andes. The Tropical Andes' area spans .
Geography and ecology
file:Andes_clima.png, 200px, Map of the climatic regions ...
*''Arhopala
''Arhopala'' is a very large genus of gossamer-winged butterflies (Lycaenidae). They are the type genus of the tribe Arhopalini. In the relatively wide circumscription used here, it contains over 200 species collectively known as oakblues. The ...
''
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*Blandin, P. (2007)
''The Systematics of the Genus ''Morpho'', Lepidoptera Nymphalidae''
Hillside Books, Canterbury Hillside Books, Canterbury was a publisher specialising in books on entomology and small equipment associated with this science.
Origin
It was established in 1989, directed by Lydie Leforestier.
Initially it was in Canterbury, England but then ...
.
*Blandin, P. (1988). ''The genus ''Morpho'', Lepidoptera Nymphalidae''. Part 1. The subgenera Iphimedeia and Schwartzia. Sciences Nat
Sciences Nat was the academic publisher specialising in entomology of the Societé Sciences Nat. The society was established in 1971 and based in the rue de la Mare in Paris. Three years later it moved to the rue des Alouettes and later to Venet ...
, Venette
Venette () is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. The town is located along the river Oise, near Compiègne.
Population
Its inhabitants are called Venettiens. There are about 2800 inhabitants (2012).
See also
* Communes of the ...
.
*Blandin, P. (1993). ''The genus ''Morpho'', Lepidoptera Nymphalidae''. Part 2. The subgenera Iphixibia, Cytheritis, Balachowskyna, and Cypritis. Sciences Nat
Sciences Nat was the academic publisher specialising in entomology of the Societé Sciences Nat. The society was established in 1971 and based in the rue de la Mare in Paris. Three years later it moved to the rue des Alouettes and later to Venet ...
, Venette
Venette () is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. The town is located along the river Oise, near Compiègne.
Population
Its inhabitants are called Venettiens. There are about 2800 inhabitants (2012).
See also
* Communes of the ...
.
*Blandin, P. (2007). ''The genus ''Morpho'', Lepidoptera Nymphalidae''. Part 3. The Subgenera ''Pessonia'', ''Grasseia'' and ''Morpho'' and Addenda to Parts 1 & 2. Hillside Books, Canterbury Hillside Books, Canterbury was a publisher specialising in books on entomology and small equipment associated with this science.
Origin
It was established in 1989, directed by Lydie Leforestier.
Initially it was in Canterbury, England but then ...
Blandin The genus ''Morpho''. Pt. 3
* Fruhstorfer, H. (1912–1913). 6. Familie: Morphidae in Seitz, A. ''Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde'' (The Macrolepidoptera of the World) Erde 5: 333–344 (31 May 1912),: 345–352 (5 June 1913),: 353–356 (8 July 1913
*
*Schäffler, Oliver and Frankenbach, Thomas. (2009). ''Schmetterlinge der Erde'' Part 30, Nymphalidae XV: Morpho I Keltern: Goecke & Evers includes ''Morpho niepelti'' and ''M. theseus''.
*Schäffler, Oliver and Frankenbach,Thomas, (2010). ''Schmetterlinge der Erde'' Part 33, Nymphalidae XVIII: Morpho II Keltern: Goecke & Evers Includes ''M. hercules'', ''M. richardus'', ''M. telemachus'', ''M. amphitryon'', ''M. hecuba'', and ''M. cisseis''.
*Takahashi, Mayumi. (1973). Notes on the genus ''Morpho'' (Lepidoptera: Morphidae) collected in the Santa Marta mountains, Colombia, South America. ''Tyô to Ga'' 24(4): 107–111, 26 figs. eneral; ecology; behavior*
*
*
External links
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*
EOL
Taxonomy and images
Superb collection of scientific specimen photographs. Many of types
Type may refer to:
Science and technology Computing
* Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc.
* Data type
In computer science and computer programming, a data type (or simply type) is a set of possible values and a set of allo ...
{{Authority control
Morpho
Morphinae
Nymphalidae of South America
Nymphalidae genera
Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius