Name/Title
The Blue MorphoEntry/Object ID
2004.4.17Description
Description: The Menelaus Blue Morpho (Morpho menelaus) is an iridescent tropical butterfly of Central and South America. It has a wing span of six inches (15 centimeters). The adult drinks juice from rotten fruit with its long proboscis, which is like a sucking tube. The adult males have brighter colours than the females.
The larva eats plants at night. The larva are red-brown in colour with bright patches of lime-green or yellow. The larvae are also highly cannibalistic.
The blue morpho was featured in the 2004 Canadian-British film The Blue Butterfly, starring William Hurt, as well as an episode of Go, Diego, GoNamed to honour the Greek mythological figure Menelaus, a king of Ancient Sparta.
A Morpho Butterfly (Morpho menelaus), is one of over 80 described species of butterflies that reside in the rainforests. Morpho butterflies are neotropical butterflies found mostly in Central America as well as Mexico and South America including Brazil, Costa Rica and Venezuela. Morpho Butterflies dwell in the forest canopy layer and rarely come near the understorey and forest floor layers. However, they have sometimes been observed flying near the ground in clearings.
The Morpho butterfly drinks its food rather than eats it. It uses its proboscis (long, protruding mouth part) to drink sap and fruit juices.
Morpho butterflies taste with sensors on their legs and taste-smell the air with their antennae.
Morpho butterflies feed on the juices of fermenting fruit with which they may also be lured. The inebriated butterflies wobble in flight and are easy to catch. Morphos will also feed on the bodily fluids of dead animals and on fungi. Therefore, Morpho butterflies may be important in dispersing fungal spores.
!.Collection
Suomynona Butterfly CollectionAcquisition
Accession
2004.4Source or Donor
Suomynona Butterfly CollectionAcquisition Method
DonationOther Name
Morpho MenelausLocation
Location
Shelf
CS-I-7Room
Curation StorageBuilding
Crater Rock MuseumCategory
StorageMoved By
Jillian Mather KettleyDate
May 1, 2025Category
PermanentMoved By
Scott LonganDate
October 29, 2009
