Facts about Blue Morpho Butterfly : Blue Morpho butterfly or Menelaus Morpho butterfly (Morpho Menelaus ) is the most well-known species in the butterfly genus Morpho. The most prominent feature of this butterfly is its wings.
On the upper side, this butterfly’s wings are bright, iridescent blue with black edges. Underneath, their wings are brown-colored. These butterflies are also quite big – their wings can be up to 12-18 cm.
Usually, one can find these butterflies in rainforests Mexico
Blue Morpho butterflies have unique features that attract butterfly lovers and scientists alike.
Facts about Blue Morpho Butterfly The wings of the butterflies in the Morpho genus have a structure that contributes to the unique effect.
If one places the butterfly’s wing under the microscope, he will see that diamond-shaped chitin nanoscales cover the upper part of it. Some specialists refer to them as photonic crystals because, similar to crystals, they can interfere with light. These scales are organized into a complex, layered structure that causes the incoming light to diffract and interfere with each other. As a result, we perceive a bright blue color on their wings. This property is called iridescence .
The upper blue part of the morpho’s wings is very noticeable. The underside is drastically different from the blue, gem-like upper side.
One would see a mix of black and brown colors. Besides the overall brown color palette, there would also be eye-like circles called ocelli on the wing’s edges. This difference in coloring is ideal for masking the butterfly’s presence when it is not flying. When the wings are folded (for example, during sleep or rest times), the butterfly becomes one with the background bark and leaves and becomes invisible to predators. It also helps with another type of disguise used during the flight.
Having bright, noticeable wings can also contribute to a good disguise.
Due to the iridescence feature of the upper side of the blue morpho wings, the observer who watched the butterfly in flight seems never to be able to follow it. The bright, blinding light flashes are followed by episodes when the butterfly cannot be seen through the leaf canopy. Any predator trying to catch it would be under the illusion that it appears and disappears. This natural approach resembles magicians’ techniques to distract the public during their tricks.
Blue Morpho butterflies can often fly in swarms around rivers and streams in the Amazon region.
Flashes of blue color, even from one butterfly, can temporarily blind some animals The brightness increases exponentially when there are multiple blue butterflies. The viewers that watch the parade from below may be forced to close their eyes to shield them. The view from the air is equally spectacular – pilots flying over Amazonian rainforests report they can see them from their planes. Let us hope that those blue visions above the rainforest still would impress many years in the future.
Each butterfly species is different. Some species are so short-lived that they eat nothing after hatching from the chrysalis.
Others are known to drink nectar from flowers. Morpho butterflies belong to a third group. These butterflies can feed by themselves and usually live for about two weeks before they reproduce and die. Unlike more conventional lepidopteran species, these butterflies rely on juices, not nectar and pollen. Their diet is also quite varied – they can feed on tree sap, juices of ripe or rotten fruit, or some other substances. Still, they are also essential for pollination.
Even with their impressive wingspan, morpho butterflies are far smaller than other insects.
Despite their size, these animals still possess all the necessary receptors needed for collecting vital information from the environment, such as the location of their peers, the presence of predators, and the possibility of weather changes. They usually use their antennae to detect chemical signals and pheromones in the air. They also have additional ways to test possible food before eating it. For example, they have taste receptors on their feet. This way, they can understand whether this particular object can contain food or whether it is suitable for other purposes, such as taking a rest or laying eggs.
Science often learns from nature. Many new approaches and technological breakthroughs were inspired by observations of behavior and structure of plants
It seems that morpho butterflies can now join the group of living beings that used to inspire inventions that contain bumblebees, fish, and dragonflies. Their joining the ranks was made possible after the scientists had deciphered the mechanism behind the iridescence of Morpho butterfly wings. Inventors have realized that the unique structure of the butterfly’s photonic crystals can be replicated in the lab. Among other things, a company called Nanotech Security Corp decided to use this mechanism to create unique images on security cards and banknotes that cannot be replicated or counterfeited.
There is a reason why morpho butterflies need a good disguise for periods of rest.
An adult morpho butterfly can survive up to 1-2 weeks . This is a relatively long life for a butterfly – some species live only for a day. A prolonged life span also means that the butterflies can afford to have periods of rest to replenish their energy. The mode of feeding of morpho butterflies and their iridescence means that they can be active only during the day and heavily rely on sunlight. They behave like us at night – they go to bed. This ability to sleep at night is called “crypsis “. During rest times, the butterflies try to hide in caves or holes in the trees and fold their wings for good measure to become one with the grey-brown background.
Rainforests are full of predators. Caterpillars are considered a staple food for many of them, such as insect-eating birds lizards
To prevent being eaten, caterpillars have to develop defenses. As a result, the caterpillars of blue morpho butterflies look very different from the adult forms. They are small and red-brown with lime-green patches, making them better adapted to feeding on leaves. They have also developed the best defense – they are dangerous. These brightly colored larvae are covered in thin hair that can irritate when touched. Their poison is mildly dangerous even for humans (if they have allergies) and can be deadly for smaller animals, which makes them avoid such food.
Caterpillars of morpho butterflies predominantly eat the leaves of plants that belong to the pea family.
They can get poisonous substances from these plants and accumulate them as they grow. That is why it is usually dangerous to eat them for many animals. This poison is not particularly evolutionary That is why both caterpillars and butterflies of the Morpho species behave similarly to skunks
Most caterpillars are very particular about the food they eat. Each species specializes in certain types of plants
Specialization of this type may be beneficial for avoiding competition between species. In some cases – for instance, during draughts or other catastrophic events – this adaptation may backfire. The whole caterpillar population may have insufficient plant material. That is why caterpillars of many different species can eat other caterpillars, eggs, or chrysalises. The same was observed for caterpillars of morpho butterflies. Though they usually eat local pea plants, in critical conditions, they can attack caterpillars of other species.
We have already mentioned that caterpillars of morpho butterflies can accumulate poison from the plants they eat without damaging themselves.
This accumulated poison protects them from being eaten. This valuable property is conserved during metamorphosis, which means morpho butterflies are poisonous as well. The poisonous characteristic adds to their list of protection measures against possible attackers. Because of the excellent defenses these butterflies have, they used to be particularly numerous in rainforests before humans invaded them. Due to the same defenses that helped the butterflies evade predators, they have also become a target for human collectors, which led to significant depletion of the population of the otherwise successful insects.
The normal life cycle of a morpho butterfly is relatively short – around 115-137 days from their first day as an egg to their last day as a butterfly.
During this short period, weather conditions can become uncomfortable. The caterpillars may hatch during a heavy rainy season or a particularly long drought. As a result, their chances of survival can drop significantly. Thankfully, caterpillars have measures against this turn of events. When they receive the signal that their environment is dangerous, ‘most of the caterpillar systems shut down partially and enter a state similar to anabiosis. This process is called diapause . Diapause is similar to hibernation of warm-blooded animals – all the metabolic processes become extremely slow to conserve energy This means the animals do not need food until the danger passes.
The morpho butterfly wings are very light, hydrophobic, and sturdy at the same time.
Together with their ability to interact with light, they greatly interest researchers specializing in optics. That is why attempts are made to replicate their structure to make cheaper optic devices. Another area where their wings’ structure can be replicated is the building of airplanes. Imagine having planes that can repel water, clean themselves, and are extremely light. Would it not transform the way we travel? If the specialists in bioengineering succeed with this project – we will certainly know.
Morpho butterflies play an important role in the mythology of native Amazon tribes.
They can play different roles depending on the tribe and the tale. In many fairy tales of the region, morpho butterflies serve as spiritual guides that show the heroes the truth about the world they live in. In other, less serious tales, the same butterflies can grant wishes. These fairy-like properties may be ascribed to these insects because of their striking color and “winking ” ability. Tribes that often use insects as a source of poisons, in their turn, treat blue morphos quite differently. They consider them evil, murderous spirits instead, knowing their poisonous nature.
The morpho butterfly egg usually takes 12-16 days to hatch. Their eggs also have their ways of ensuring survival.
As a rule, the eggs are put on the underside of the leaves. It is done for two reasons. First, the newly hatched caterpillars would have an immediate food source. Second, the eggs are less likely to be seen. Their initial coloring – light green with a circle of brown spots in the middle also helps with masking them. However, that is not all – sometimes, the eggs can change color as they develop. Depending on the stage of development and the surrounding environment, blue morpho eggs can be transparent, green, or brown.
Sometimes blue morpho butterflies can find very unusual food sources. As a rule, they use their long proboscis to feed on fermenting fruit and leaves.
They also feed on fungi This type of behavior is far less rare than you might think. A species of butterfly residing in Great Britain, the purple emperor, is also known to feed on rotting flesh. Butterfly lovers try to lure this rare butterfly with smelly treats to take a picture yearly.
Unusual diet choices of morpho butterflies can hold great importance from an ecological point of view
These butterflies are not excellent flower pollinators; they depend on fruit juices. They are more likely to assist plants in spreading their seeds, however. Besides flowering plants, Morpho butterflies feed on decomposing fungi, and they have become significant for this class of organisms. Fungi do not have many mechanisms for long-distance dissemination, and butterflies help by transporting fungal spores on their feet. The spores attach to the leg bristles on the insect’s feet and can be preserved for a long time until the butterfly finds another fungus of the same species.
When looking at the pictures of blue morphos, you are probably looking at their male representatives.
These species are known for their sexual dimorphism, which means that male and female morpho butterflies look different. Males have bright blue coloring, which is useful for them – it helps female butterflies find partners of the same species. Female morphos lack bright coloring and are usually brown or yellow, rarely paler blue. It is also a sound strategy in terms of adaptation – females need to be far less noticeable to lay their eggs safely.
As mentioned earlier, there is a clear difference between male and female morpho butterflies.
In some cases, though, one can meet a butterfly that looks neither male nor female. Such individuals appear because specific shifts occur in the course of their development. These butterflies are called gynandromorphs . If you look at some gynandromorphs` images, you would see that they resemble a patchwork, where one half is painted “male ” blue and the other – “female ” brown. They also may have other purely “male ” or “female ” traits. Such mosaic butterflies are of great interest to scientists who seek the mechanisms of early sex development.
Morpho butterflies have an impressive number of adaptations that keep the predators away: their unique coloring, the poison that their bodies contain, their behavior, as well as other unique features.
Because of that, only birds that have adapted to eating poisonous insects such as bees wasps Usually, those birds are jacamars or other flycatcher species. The main threat to the morpho butterflies is humans. One of the reasons is that the butterflies of this genus are considered valuable by butterfly collectors. Another danger that this amazing creature faces is the destruction of Amazonian rainforests. When the forest canopy is gone, the butterflies are deprived of food and hiding places. Morpho butterflies are not yet on the list of endangered species. However, they can soon get there.
As you can see, a butterfly is never just a butterfly. It is essential to the environment and meaningful for many groups of humans, from Native tribes to scientists. We must treat them with respect and care.
Cite This Page
“Butterflies: photonic crystals on the wing” – Department of Neurobiophysics, University of Groningen, the Netherlands. Accessed August 14, 2019. Link .“Morpho menelaus” . Accessed August 14, 2019. Link .“Butterflies | Causes of Color” . Accessed August 14, 2019. Link .“Blue Morpho” – Saint Luios Zoo. Accessed August 14, 2019. Link .“Species Profile: Blue Morpho Butterfly (Morpho peleides) | Rainforest Alliance” . Accessed August 14, 2019. Link .“biology: Butterflies taste with their feet” . Accessed August 14, 2019. Link .“Home – Nanotech” . Accessed August 14, 2019. Link .“Avoiding Attack: The Evolutionary Ecology of Crypsis, Warning Signals, and Mimicry – PDF Free Download” . Accessed August 14, 2019. Link .“Morpho Butterfly – Key Facts, Information & Habitat” . Accessed August 14, 2019. Link .“Morpho peleides(Morpho or Emperor Butterfly)” – The Online Guide to the Animals of Trinidad and Tobago. Accessed August 14, 2019. Link .“Caterpillars Turn to Cannibalism: Study | The Scientist Magazine®” . Accessed August 14, 2019. Link .“The Life of Blue Morpho Butterflies – BUG UNDER GLASS” . Accessed August 14, 2019. Link .“Page Currently Unavailable | Photonics.com” . Accessed August 14, 2019. Link .“Butterfly Wings May Improve Airplane Wings | Inside Science” . Accessed August 14, 2019. Link .“Butterfly Magic and Folklore” . Accessed August 14, 2019. Link .“Blue morpho – Morpho peleides” . Accessed August 14, 2019. Link .“Blue Morpho Butterfly – Amazon Aid Foundation” . Accessed August 14, 2019. Link .“Purple Emperor: The butterfly that feeds on rotting flesh – BBC News” . Accessed August 14, 2019. Link .“Facts about Morpho Butterfly – Insect Frame UK” . Accessed August 14, 2019. Link .“The Curious Case Of The Blue Morpho Butterflies” . Accessed August 14, 2019. Link .“How ACA and Indigenous Communities are Protecting Morpho Butterflies” – Amazon Conservation Association. Accessed August 14, 2019. Link .
