Butterflies of
the Amazon and Andes
Common Blue Morpho
Morpho helenor
CRAMER, 1776
Family - NYMPHALIDAE
subfamily -
MORPHINAE
Tribe - MORPHINI
introduction
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habitats |
lifecycle |
adult behaviour
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Morpho helenor,
Satipo, 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 certain taxonomists who consider they should be elevated to the
rank of full species.
Older
literature tends to list up to 80 species, but more recent phylogenetic research
indicates that many of these are just subspecies or forms. The former "species"
achillaena,
montezuma,
peleides
and
telamon
for example are amongst the 30 taxa now listed by Lamas ( 2004 ) as subspecies
of
helenor.
Morpho helenor,
Catarata Bayoz, La Merced, Peru
Morpho helenor and it's close relative
achilles are recognised by the broad vertical bands of brilliant blue on their uppersides,
and by the distinctive white, black, yellow and red concentric rings which form
the ocelli on their olive-brown underside hindwings. The size of these ocelli, and the width
of the blue bands on the upperside, varies considerably.
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I am indebted
to Andrew Neild ( author of Butterflies of Venezuela ) for providing the following guide to
distinguishing between
Morpho helenor
and
Morpho achilles
:
"In
helenor
the submarginal whitish band on the
underside hindwing gets wider towards the apex and
is usually widest at the apex; in
achilles
it narrows towards the apex, and is usually wider / widest in
its mid section. Also, but not always, on the
FW, in space 3 (
the one that usually has the
biggest FW ocellus ), the broad pale band is almost always
crescent-shaped, while in
achilles
it is usually triangular, or if nearly crescent-shaped,
wider than it is in sympatric
helenor." |
Morpho helenor,
Satipo, Peru
The wing area of Morpho
butterflies is enormous relative to the body size, resulting in a very
distinctive slow and bouncy flight pattern. The effect is that the brilliant
blue upperside colouration appears to flash like a beacon as it alternates in
flight with the dark undersurface. This probably makes it harder for an avian
predator to follow the flight, and causes it great confusion when the butterfly
lands - the bird is looking for a brilliant blue insect, but the butterfly snaps
it's wings shut to display the dark brown underside, foiling the bird's search
program. If the bird does manage to spot the settled butterfly, it will almost
always aim it's attack at the most prominent feature - in this case the ocelli,
missing the body entirely and allowing the butterfly to escape.
Morpho
helenor is a
widespread and common species found throughout the neotropical region from Mexico to
Bolivia.
Habitats
This species is adapted to breed in a wide variety of forested habitats,
occurring for example in the dry deciduous woodlands at sea level in Guanacaste
( Costa Rica ), as well as in wet tropical Amazonian rainforests and Andean
cloudforest at altitudes of up to about 1800m.
Lifecycle
The domed eggs are pale
green with a narrow reddish ring near the top. They are laid singly on leaves of
the foodplants.
The
fully grown caterpillar is plump, with a large head. The body is beautifully
patterned with fine longitudinal lines of bright red, yellow, brown and black,
and covered with fine brown hairs which are tufted near the head and tail, and
in the middle of the back. It feeds on
Macharium, Pterocarpus, Lonchocarpus, Swartzia
and Dalbergia
- all trees in the family Fabaceae, and also on Bignoniaceae.
Morpho caterpillars have eversible glands on the thoracic segments, which emit a
strong odour as a defence against predators.
The
chrysalis is pale green and bulbous, with a short and sturdy peduncle, suspended
from a stem.
Adult behaviour
The bouncy
zigzag flight of this saucer-sized butterfly is unmistakeable.
Males
patrol back and forth along the courses of streams in the dappled
sunlight of their forest habitats. They are most active in the
mornings, and spend the afternoons either mud-puddling at peccary
wallows, or sitting motionless on foliage in light gaps.
Females, which
are recognised by the wider dark borders on the uppersides, are
seen far less frequently, usually only in late morning, when they
fly along trails, resting regularly amongst vegetation.
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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