Morpho peleides

Blue Morpho (Morpho peleides )

The Blue Morpho (Morpho peleides ) or Himmelsfalter is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae ( Nymphalidae ).

Description

The moths reach a wingspan of 95-120 mm. They have bright blue upper wing. The blue is caused by interference of light on the scales of the wings and not by pigments. In the females the blue is not as strong. The leading edges of the front wings and the outer edges of the front and hind wings are black. The undersides of the wings are brown with wavy white stripes and yellow rimmed eye patch.

Occurrence

The Morpho is found in the tropical rain forests of Mexico, Central America, South America and the northern Trinidad. It is found up to 1,400 meters above sea level.

Way of life

The moths suck on fermenting fruit. They fly to the vacancies in the woods, such as along rivers, roads and paths, their flight is very slow. The females fly especially around lunch time. They lay their eggs on the leaf surface of forage crops. The resulting hatching caterpillars are dotted yellow and red and reach a length of up to 90 millimeters. Your head capsule is hairy. The development time takes approximately four months ( average 115 days ).

Food of the caterpillars

The caterpillars feed on Schmetterlingsblütern ( Fabales ), particularly of plants of the genus Mucuna, Lonchocarpus and Pterocarpus.

Note