Butterflies of
the Amazon and Andes
Marbled
Morpho
Morpho deidamia
HÜBNER, 1819
Family - NYMPHALIDAE
subfamily -
MORPHINAE
Tribe - MORPHINI
subtribe - MORPHINA
Morpho
deidamia,
Tingo Maria, Peru
Introduction
It is a source of amusement to lepidopterists that the general public in Latin
America always refer to every one of the
Morpho species as if they were just one creature - "the Blue Morpho".
There are in fact at least 29 described species, possibly more, as the status of some
subspecies is
contended by some taxonomists who consider they should be elevated to the
rank of full species.
The dazzling blue wings of Morpho
butterflies are enormous relative to their body size, resulting in a very
distinctive slow, bouncy flight pattern. The effect is that the brilliant
blue upperside appears to flash like a beacon as it alternates in
flight with the dark undersurface. This makes it difficult for a bird to follow the flight.
If attacked when on the wing, the slow lazy flight pattern
instantly changes into a wild swooping evasive manoeuvre,
following which the butterfly dives into the forest where it
instantly settles. A pursuing bird is still of course searching
for a brilliant blue insect, but the
Morpho snaps it's wings shut, displaying the dark
brown underside and foiling the bird's search
program. If the bird does manage to spot the settled butterfly it invariably aims its attack at the most prominent feature - in this case the ocelli,
missing the body entirely and allowing the butterfly to escape.
The intense dazzling blue colour of
Morpho butterflies is impossible to convey in a
photograph. The words used by DeVries to describe Morpho cypris are
very apt
: "The sight of this sailing blue orb against a rainforest background is truly
one of the most stunningly beautiful in the neotropics". The legendary
naturalist Henry Walter Bates described the shimmering blue hues of the
Morpho equally well: "When it comes sailing along it occasionally
flaps its wings and then the blue surface flashes in the sunlight so that it is
visible a quarter of a mile away".
Morpho
deidamia is a
widespread but uncommon species found throughout the neotropical region from
Nicaragua to
Bolivia.
Habitats
This species is adapted to breed in a wide variety of forested habitats,
occurring for example in the dry deciduous woodlands of Nicaragua, but is far
more often encountered in primary rainforest. It is found at altitudes between
0-1400m.
Lifecycle
I have no data specific
to deidamia. The eggs of most other
Morpho species are dome-shaped and
pale green with a narrow reddish ring near the top. Most Morphos lay apparently
their eggs singly but several Morpho species have
gregarious larvae, strongly suggesting that their eggs are laid in clusters.
Fully
grown larvae are plump, with a large head. Their bodies are beautifully
patterned with fine longitudinal lines of bright red, yellow and black, and
covered with fine brown hairs which are tufted near the head and tail, and in
the middle of the back. Morpho larvae feed on the leaves of a wide range of
trees in the family Fabaceae including
Macharium,
Pterocarpus,
Lonchocarpus, Swartzia and Dalbergia.
The larvae have eversible glands on the thorax which emit a
strong odour as a defence against predators. The pupae are pale green and bulbous,
and are suspended from a stem or leaf of the foodplant.
Adult behaviour
Males
patrol back and forth along the courses of streams and rivers in the dappled
sunlight of their forest habitats. On sunny and warm afternoons
they can sometimes be found imbibing mineralised moisture from
damp sand, or from urine-tainted ground. If disturbed they tend to
fly a short distance and settle among the foliage of a nearby tree
or bush, but will often return to feed after they sense the danger
has passed.
Females are seen far less frequently.
Both sexes close
their wings immediately upon landing, but periodically flick them
open to give the briefest glimpse of the dazzling blue upperside.
This behaviour is most pronounced in mud-puddling males, which
repeatedly flicker their wings as they hop about on the ground
seeking dissolved minerals.
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