3. March

March 2009

Marvelous Morphos showcasing Nature

Many of Nature’s creations qualify as masterpieces. These gorgeous Morpho Butterflies are almost impossibly beautiful, as they flit around the Butterfly House in St Louis, Missouri. The Butterfly House is celebrating March as Morpho Mania Month, and each weekend many more hundreds of these lovely creatures are released as visitors watch. It would be hard for Humans to better Nature as it is here, I think.

Above and Below: Common Blue Morpho, Costa Rica and Surinam

This is  the most popular butterfly at the Butterfly House, at least while it is flying. The Morpho tends to close its wings when it lands and most people don’t recognize it when it is standing still. The underside of the wings (the ventral surface) is a mottled brown color that helps the butterfly blend into the background. That bright blue color is only seen in flight or on the rare occasion that they are found basking with the wings open. The pupae of this butterfly are bright green and resemble small fruits. 

 Below: The Achilles Morpho, South America,

Unlike many Morphos, this species is not totally blue; bright blue bands have black bands on either side. This is true for both males and females. The underside is also notable, as it’s a much darker chocolate brown with distinctive markings. They are strong fliers on both sunny and cloudy days.