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Project Noah Nature School
Morpho achilles
This beautiful butterfly took a bit of stalking to photograph, and these guys usually keep their wings folded when they are perched. This one had about a six-inch wingspan.
Tropical rainforest in the Guiana Shield.
Yeah, it opened its wings for a split second and I got the shot. I was lucky. I had some trouble getting the exact species, but in the end I decided based on the ventral markings at this website: http://www.learnaboutbutterflies.com/Ama...
They were an exact match to the markings on my spotting. So I decided it was Morpho achilles.
Wow, you got a photo with the wing open!!! They seem to be the same, but these butterflies are not easy to ID exactly...
Sorry, too late for me to check and my last comment with some links got lost in the Nirwana of closed WIFI connection. Come back later!
I added more photos to the spotting. I looked at a book of morphos and this one looks exactly like a Richard's morpho. Thanks for catching my mistake. Maybe the ventral shots will help identify it?
Richard's Morpho is not found in Suriname, only in Minas Gerais in Brazil. I am not sure if it is possible to ID this one for sure. My closest guess would be:
Morpho helenor (helenor) or Morpho achilles (achilles) with a very slight tendency to Morpho helenor. But I would not bet my ranch on both of the two without the native specimen or a ventral shot.
http://www.butterfliesofamerica.com/L/mo...
http://www.butterfliesofamerica.com/L/mo...
Thank you! I had about a second to get the photo before it flew away. I was so happy it came out as well as it did with a point and shoot camera!
Spotted on May 19, 2012
Submitted on Jul 19, 2012
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