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Morpho peleides
he 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 7.5–20 cm (3.0–7.9 in). The entire Blue Morpho Butterfly lifecycle, from egg to adult is only 115 days.
The Peleides Blue Morpho (Morpho peleides) is an iridescent tropical butterfly found in Mexico, Central America, northern South America, Paraguay, and Trinidad. Here spotted in the Amsterdam zoo
Although the butterfly was still flying around the broken wing shows the end of life was near.
Spotted on Jul 2, 2011
Submitted on Jul 8, 2011
4 Comments
Saw one in Belize. Incredible
@Michelle, If you can't see them 'wild', most butterfly gardens have them. They seem to do well in a conservatory and YES, they are stunning.
Incredible, what a beauty! Would love to see one in person!!
such a beauty! great shot!