Morpho

The morpho butterflies are a group of Neotropical butterflies belonging to the genus Morpho. This genus contains over 29 recognised species and 147 recognised subspecies, most of which are located in South America, Mexico, and Central America. M. rhodopteron has a wing span of 7.5 cm (3.0 in), while M. hecuba, the majestic sunset morpho, has a wing span of 20 cm (7.9 in). The epithet morpho, which means "transformed" or "modified," is also a name. Morpho peleides, also known as the Peleides blue morpho, common morpho, or emperor, is an iridescent tropical butterfly that can be found in Mexico, Central America, northern South America, Paraguay, and Trinidad. Peleides is thought to be a subspecies of Morpho helenor by the majority of authorities.

[Image will be uploaded soon]

Categorisation of Morpho

The genus Morpho is known by a variety of names. Subgenera have been created within the genus. Morpho species and subspecies have hundreds of form, variety, and aberration names. One lepidopterist lumps all of these species into a single genus, and many names in a small number of species are synonymized. Two other lepidopterists utilise a different nomenclature for their phylogenetic analysis. Other authorities acknowledge a far larger number of species.

Morphological Characteristics of Morpho

The blue morpho butterfly's wings are vivid blue with black edges, as the name suggests. With wingspan ranging from five to eight inches, the blue morpho is one of the world's largest butterflies. The minuscule scales on the backs of their wings reflect light, giving them a vibrant, iridescent blue colour. When the morpho's wings are closed, the underside of its wings is a dull brown colour with many eyespots, offering concealment against predators such as birds and insects. The contrasting bright blue and drab brown colours flicker when the blue morpho flies, giving the impression that the morpho is appearing and disappearing. The males' wings are larger and appear to be brighter in colour than the females'. Blue morphos have two clubbed antennae, two forewings and two rear wings, six legs, and three body segments (head, thorax, and abdomen), just like other butterflies.

Coloration of Morpho

Many morpho butterflies are painted in glittering blues and greens that sparkle. These hues are an example of iridescence through structural coloration, rather than pigmentation. The minute scales that cover the morpho's wings, in particular, reflect incident light at successive levels, resulting in interference effects that are dependent on wavelength and angle of incidence/observance. 

As a result, the colours appear to change with viewing angle, although they are surprisingly consistent, maybe due to the scales' tetrahedral (diamond-like) structural arrangement or diffraction from above cell layers. The wide-angle blue reflection property of morpho butterfly wings can be explained by looking at the nanostructures in the scales. The wide-angle reflection is achieved by combining three design principles: Christmas tree-shaped ridges, alternating lamellae layers (or "branches"), and a modest height offset between adjoining ridges. 

For alternating layers, the reflection spectrum is found to be broad (about 90 nm) and can be adjusted by changing the design pattern. By providing an impedance match for blue wavelengths, the Christmas tree-like pattern serves to lessen the directionality of the reflectance. Furthermore, for a wide range of angles, the height offset between adjoining ridges increases the intensity of reflection. A photonic crystal could be compared to this structure. Their wing scales' lamellate structure has been utilised as a model in the development of biomimetic materials, dye-free paints, and currency anticounterfeiting technologies. Only the dorsal sides of their wings have iridescent lamellae, leaving the ventral sides brown.

Ocelli adorn the ventral side of the body (eyespots). The dorsal lamellae of some species, such as M. godarti, are so thin that ventral ocelli can peek through. Despite the fact that not all morphos are iridescent, they all feature ocelli. Only the males of most species are colourful, implying that colouring is employed for intrasexual communication between males. The lamellae can reflect up to 70% of the light that strikes them, including ultraviolet light. The males of morpho butterflies are considered to be able to see one other from considerable distances because their eyes are very sensitive to UV radiation. Some South American species are said to be visible to the naked eye from a distance of up to one kilometre.

There are also a few additional species that are tawny orange or dark brown (for instance M. hecuba and M. telemachus). Some species are white, the most notable of which are M. catenarius and M. laertes. The rare M. sulkowskyi is a remarkable species that is primarily white in appearance but has a gorgeous iridescent purple and teal iridescence when viewed from certain angles. Some species in the Andes are small and sensitive (M. lympharis). M. rhetenor is the most iridescent of all the metallic blue Morpho species, with M. cypris a close second. Indeed, specimens displayed in entomological collections of M. cypris show colour changes across the wings if they are not set' exactly flat. Many species feature a white stripe pattern on their colourful blue wings, such as M. cypris and M. rhetenor helena. Vladimir Nabokov, a well-known author and lepidopterist, described them as "shimmering light-blue mirrors."

Sexual Dimorphism in Morpho

Sexual dimorphism is present in the blue morpho species. Only the males of some species (such as M. adonis, M. eugenia, M. aega, M. cypris, and M. rhetenor) are iridescent blue, while the females are brown and yellow. Females of several species (such as M. anaxibia, M. godarti, M. didius, M. amathonte, and M. deidamia) are somewhat iridescent but less blue than males.

Habitat of Morpho

Morpho butterflies can be found in the Amazon and Atlantic primary forests. They also adapted to breed in a number of other wooded environments, such as Nicaragua's dry deciduous woodlands and secondary forests. Morphos can be found at altitudes ranging from sea level to around 1,400 metres (4,600 ft).

Behaviour of Morpho

Morphos are diurnal, with males patrolling the banks of forest streams and rivers in the mornings. They are territorial and will pursue any competitors. Except during mating season, Morphos usually live alone.

The genus Morpho is tasty, yet some species (like as M. amathonte) are extremely strong flyers, making it difficult for birds, even those specialised for catching butterflies on the flight, to catch them. Most Morpho species have a striking blue colour, which could be a form of Müllerian mimicry or 'pursuit aposematism.

Both males and females have eyespots on the undersides of their wings, which may be a form of automimicry in which a spot on an animal's body resembles an eye of a different animal in order to deceive potential predators or prey species, divert a predator's attention away from the most vulnerable body parts, or appear as an inedible or even dangerous animal.

Royal flycatchers, jacamars, and other insectivorous birds, frogs, and reptiles are among the predators. Because the wing area is so large in comparison to the body size, Morphos have a very characteristic, sluggish, bouncy flight pattern.

Life Cycle

[Image will be uploaded soon]

The morpho butterfly's complete life cycle lasts roughly 115 days, from egg to death.

The larvae develop from pale-green eggs that look like dewdrops. The caterpillars' bodies are reddish-brown with vivid lime-green or yellow patches on their backs.

Its hairs irritate human skin, and it secretes a rancid butter-smelling fluid from eversible glands on the thorax when disturbed. The pungent stench serves as a deterrent to predators. They eat a wide range of plants. Before approaching the pupal stage, the caterpillar moults five times. The bulbous chrysalis is pale green or jade green in colour, and when touched, it makes a disagreeable ultrasonic sound. It is hanging from a food plant's stem or leaf.

Adults have a lifespan of two to three weeks. Fermenting fruit, decomposing animals, tree sap, fungi, and nutrient-rich mud are all sources of food for them. Because they stored toxins from the plants on which they feed as caterpillars, they are deadly to predators.

In commercial breeding efforts, the more common blue morphos are mass-bred. The iridescent wings are utilised in jewellery making and as inlay in woodworking. The abdomen is removed from papered specimens to avoid the greasy contents from staining the wings. Several Neotropical countries export large numbers of live specimens as pupae for exhibition in butterfly houses. Unfortunately, their wings are commonly broken in captivity because of their erratic flight pattern and size.

Reproduction in Morpho

Morpho butterflies, like other butterflies, go through four stages of metamorphosis. First, the dewdrop-like pale green eggs hatch into larvae, sometimes known as caterpillars. The caterpillar is red-brown in colour with vivid lime-green patches on its back and stinging hairs. Hairy brown caterpillars consume a wide range of leguminous plants (a simple dry fruit which develops from a simple carpel and usually opens along a seam on two sides). Caterpillars in certain species are cannibalistic. When disturbed, some Morpho caterpillars emit a rancid butter-scented fluid. Human skin has been known to be irritated by the tufts of hair that adorn the caterpillars.

The caterpillars eventually wrap themselves in a protective cocoon known as a chrysalis. The insects are known as pupae at this stage. Pupation ends after a period of time, and the mature butterfly emerges from its chrysalis.

From egg to death, the Morpho butterfly takes about 137 days to complete its life cycle. Adults have a one-month lifespan. Because the adults are deadly due to the feeding caterpillar sequestering dangerous substances, they have few predators (the process of animals accumulating poisonous compounds from the food they are eating in order to become poisonous themselves for their predators). Adult morphos, like other butterflies, grew up as plant-eating caterpillars. The leaves of the pea family are particularly appealing to blue morpho caterpillars.

Host Plants

Leguminosae, Gramineae, Canellaceae, Guttiferae, Erythroxylaceae, Myrtaceae, Moraceae, Lauraceae, Sapindaceae, Rhamnaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Musaceae, Palmae, Menispermaceae, Tiliaceae, Bignoniaceae, and Menispermaceae are among the plants that Morpho larvae.

The ancestral food of larval Satyrinae, according to Penz and DeVries, is Poaceae or other monocots. Throughout their evolutionary history, many morphos have shifted to dicots, while basic species have kept their monocot diets.

Role of Morpho in Environment

Because it is preyed upon by other Amazonian species, the Blue Morpho Butterfly is of apparent ecological importance. However, this species represents only a minor part of the Amazon's overall biological richness, and biodiversity is a characteristic worth preservation in and of itself. Biodiversity creates redundancy in the ecological niches (or roles) occupied by organisms, preserving ecosystems by making them more adaptable to long-term environmental changes. Protecting biodiversity increases the chances that the Amazon Rainforest will continue to provide the vast amount of resources and ecosystem services* that it currently does in the face of climate change and impending development, because species will adapt to changing environmental conditions in varying degrees. As a result, maintaining a varied variety of species (and habitats) increases the likelihood that the Amazon will continue to function as it does now in the future.

Diet of Common Morpho Butterfly

The nutrition of the blue morpho alters as it progresses through its life cycle. It eats a wide variety of leaves as a caterpillar, but favours plants in the pea family. When it transforms into a butterfly, it loses the ability to chew and must instead sip its meal. Adults use a proboscis, a long, projecting mouthpart, as a drinking straw to consume rotting fruit juice, decomposing animal fluids, tree sap, fungus, and moist muck. Blue morphos use sensors on their legs to taste fruit, and their antennae, which act as a tongue and nose, "taste-smell" the air.

Predators of Common Morpho Butterfly

Tropical forest destruction and habitat fragmentation pose serious threats to blue morphos. Humans pose a direct threat to this magnificent species because its beauty draws artists and collectors from all around the world who want to photograph and display it. Aside from humans, adult butterflies are preyed upon by birds such as the jacamar and flycatcher.

Role of Collectors

Morpho butterflies have traditionally been treasured by wealthy collectors, as they are typically highly expensive. The London jeweller Dru Drury and the Dutch merchant Pieter Teyler van der Hulst, the Paris diplomat Georges Rousseau-Decelle, the financier Walter Rothschild, Russia's Romanov Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich, and the English and German businessmen James John Joicey and Curt Eisner, among others, have famous collections. Morphos previously graced "Kunstkamera" cabinets of curiosities and royal natural history cabinets, most notably those of Tsar Peter the Great of Russia, Austrian Empress Maria Theresa, and Queen Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden. Maria Sibylla Merian, who was not affluent, is more famous.

People living along the Rio Negro in Brazil once took advantage of the blue morpho's (M. menelaus) territorial instincts by luring them into clearings with vivid blue decoys. Butterfly wings were collected and used to decorate ceremonial masks. Adult morpho butterflies eat the juices of fermenting fruit, which can also be used to attract them. The butterflies are easy to catch since they wobble in flight.

Did You Know that

• Blue morphos, like all butterflies, use sensors on their legs to taste and use their antennae to taste-smell the air.

• The blue morpho's beauty is fleeting: the complete life cycle lasts only 115 days.