Blue Morpho Butterfly- Where to Find One

Blue Morpho Butterfly

The blue morpho butterfly is one of the most beautiful butterflies in the world. As its common name implies, the blue morpho butterfly’s wings are bright blue with black edging.. The blue morpho is one of the largest butterflies on Earth, having a wing span of five to eight inches. Their incredible blue coloring is caused by light reflecting off microscopic scales on the back of their wings.  The bottoms of the morpho’s wings are  a dull brown color with many eyespots. This provides camouflage against  enemies such as birds and insects when its wings are closed.

When the blue morpho butterfly flies, the contrasting vibrant blue and bland brown colors flash, making it look like the morpho is turning off and on. The males’ wings are lengthier than those of the females and appear to be brighter in the sunlight. Blue morphos, like their relatives also have  clubbed antennas, two fore wings and two hind wings, six legs and three body segments — the head, thorax and abdomen

Blue morphos live in the tropical forests Central and South America from Mexico to Colombia. Adults spend most of their time on the forest floor and in the lower shrubs and trees of the canopy with their wings folded. However, when looking for mates, the blue morpho butterfly will fly through all layers of the forest looking for a partner. Morphos are most often seen in open areas and along small creeks where their bright blue wings are most visible. Airline crews  flying over the forests have seen large groups of blue morphos above the tree canopy, warming themselves in the sun. The blue morpho butterfly lifespan lasts only 115 days, which means most of their time is spent eating and reproducing.

The blue morpho’s diet changes throughout each stage of its lifecycle. As a caterpillar, it chews leaves of many varieties, but prefers to dine on plants in the pea family. When it becomes a butterfly, since it can no longer chew, it drinks its food instead. Adults use a long, protruding mouthpart called a proboscis as a drinking straw to sip the juice of rotting fruit,  fluids from decomposing animals, tree sap, fungi and wet mud. Blue morphos have  taste  sensors on their legs, and they “taste-smell” the air with their antennae, which serve as a combined tongue and nose.

The blue morpho butterfly is severely threatened by deforestation of tropical forests and habitat destruction. 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.

The Blue Morpho Butterfly- One of Nature’s Disappearing Beautys

The Blue Morpho Butterfly  is from a group of insects called Lepidoptera. Like all insects, butterflies  have a large abdomen, a pair of  antennae, a  head structure, a thorax and six spindly appendages. Additionally, butterflies have four wings  covered with colored scales. They also have a coiled proboscis for drinking liquids such as water and nectar. Lepidoptera is derived from the Latin “lepido”= scale + “ptera” = wing. As with all insects, there are exceptions. Some insect species have wingless adults and do not have a proboscis.
Butterflies  are found everywhere on earth except Antarctica, and scientists have estimated there are  12-15,000 species of butterflies. There are still thousands of moth and butterfly species that have not been discovered by humans. In the United States and Canada, more than 750 species of butterflies  have been documented. New species are being discovered everyday and some are as dazzling as the blue morpho butterfly.
The habitat of the blue morpho butterfly is mainly the Latin American tropical forests. Adults spend most of their short lives in the trees and shrubs of the lower forest floor. They usually keep their wings folded as a form of protection and camoulflage.  However, in mating season, the blue morpho will fly  all through the forest. The blue morpho butterfly is seen mostly in clearings and along waterways where their bright blue wings glisten in the sun. Airplane pilots flying over rainforests have noticed large groups of blue morphos in the treetops, warming themselves in the sunlight. The avaerage lifespan of a blue morpho is only about 115 days, of which a large chunk is spent searching for food and mating.
The anatomy of the blur morpho is similar to other butterflies. All butterflies have a brain and a heart. The butterfly’s nervous system, the subesophageal ganglion, is located in the thorax and not the head of the insect. The heart is a long chamber that is located on the upper side of the butterfly. Although the butterfly doesn’t have red blood, hemolymph is pumped from the rear of the body to keep the other organs functioning.
The diet of the blue morpho butterfly consists of liquids that help keep their energy stores and water balance in proper sync. Flower nectar is a favorite food of blue morpho butterflies and they also drink from wet sand, rotting fruits, bird excrement or other animal droppings.
The blue morpho butterfly is seriously threatened by environmental encroachment. If measures are not taken to protect the rapidly shrinking habitat, the blue morpho butterfly will become extinct.