''Morpho peleides'', the Peleides blue morpho, common morpho or the emperor is an

iridescent 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, butterfl ...

tropical

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

found in

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 ...

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. ...

, northern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

, Paraguay and

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

. Most authorities believe that ''peleides'' is a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of '' Morpho helenor''. The brilliant blue color in the butterfly's wings is caused by the diffraction of the light from millions of tiny scales on its wings. It uses this to frighten away predators, by flashing its wings rapidly. The wingspan of the blue morpho butterfly ranges from . The entire blue morpho butterfly life cycle, from egg to adult is only 115 days. This butterfly undergoes metamorphosis from larva to butterfly. The larva eats plant leaves before spinning a chrysalis. Flower nectar, which is available later in the year, is used by the butterfly. A recent study also discovered that during transformation, the butterfly substantially reduces its body weight and body fat.Connor, W. E. (2006). Effects of diet and metamorphosis upon the sterol composition of the butterfly Morpho peleides. Journal of Lipid Research., 47(7), 1444–1448. https://doi.org/10.1194/jlr.M600056-JLR200 Known larval food plants are

Leguminosae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

(''

Arachis hypogaea The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as ...

'', ''

Dioclea wilsonii Dioclea or Diocleia, and also Dioklea or Diokleia may refer to : * Diocleia (festival), an annual festival in ancient Megara in honor of the hero Diocles of Megara, Diocles, famous for the kissing contest between men * Dioclea (state), a medieval s ...

'', ''

Inga ''Inga'' is a genus of small tropical, tough-leaved, nitrogen-fixing treesElkan, Daniel. "Slash-and-burn farming has become a major threat to the world's rainforest" ''The Guardian'' 21 April 2004 and shrubs, subfamily Mimosoideae. ''Inga''s l ...

'' species, ''

Lonchocarpus ''Lonchocarpus'' is a plant genus in the legume family (biology), family (Fabaceae). The species are called lancepods due to their fruit resembling an ornate lance tip or a few beads on a string. ''Cubé'' resin is produced from the roots of '' ...

'', ''

Machaerium cobanense ''Machaerium'' is the scientific name of two genera of organisms and may refer to: * ''Machaerium'' (fly), a genus of insects in the family Dolichopodidae * ''Machaerium'' (plant), a genus of plants in the family Fabaceae {{Genus disambiguat ...

'', '' Machaerium salvadorense'', '' Machaerium seemannii'', ''

Medicago sativa Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as we ...

'', ''

Mucuna mutisiana ''Mucuna'' is a genus of around 100 accepted species of climbing lianas (vines) and shrubs of the family Fabaceae: tribe Phaseoleae, typically found in tropical forests. The leaves are trifoliolate, alternate, or spiraled, and the flowers are pe ...

'', ''

Pithecellobium ''Pithecellobium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek words πίθηκος (''pithêkos''), meaning "ape" or "monkey," and ἐλλόβιον (''ellobion''), meaning "earring," which r ...

'', ''

Pterocarpus rohrii ''Pterocarpus'' is a pantropical genus of trees in the family Fabaceae. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae, and was recently assigned to the informal monophyletic ''Pterocarpus'' clade within the Dalbergieae. Most species of ''Pterocarpus'' ...

'', ''

Mucuna urens ''Mucuna urens'' is a species of large liana from the family Fabaceae. The plant is native to tropical Central and South America, and has been introduced into the Republic of the Congo. Common names include horse-eye bean and ox-eye bean. Taxono ...

'') and

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 Books: ...

(''

Paragonia pyramidata Paragonia may refer to: * A fictional South American country, setting of the 1916 film ''The Americano'' * ''Paragonia'' (fly), a genus of flies * ''Paragonia'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants {{disambig, genus ...

''). ''Morpho peleides'' drinks the juices from rotting fruits for food. Its favorites in captivity are mango, kiwi, and lychee. ''Morpho peleides'' butterflies live in the rainforests of South America, and can be found in Mexico and Central America. The larvae of ''Morpho peleides'' butterflies are occasional

cannibals Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, bo ...

. These caterpillars are red brown with patches of bright green.

Photographs

File:Morpho peleides 2.jpg, File:Bluemorphobutterfly.jpg, ''Morpho peleides'' on display at the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Science File:Morpho peleides-01 (xndr).jpg, Underside File:Morpho peleides recently emerged.jpg, ''Morpho peleides'' recently emerged; Florida Museum of Natural History, Butterfly Rainforest

References

External links

Butterflies of America
Images of type and other specimens of ''Morpho helenor peleides''
''Morpho peleides'', Blue Morpho
at Flickr, showing the spectacular iridescence
NSG
Specimen. Photograph of underside. Morpho Nymphalidae of South America Butterflies described in 1850 {{Morphinae-stub

Photographs

See also

References

External links