No blue in it at all
Its wings contain no blue colouring. The scales are ridged so finely that they reflect only blue light.
The Amazon · Butterflies and moths
Blue morpho
Morpho menelaus
A very large butterfly whose wings are brilliant, shining blue above and brown with eyespots beneath.
- Size
- Wingspan 12 to 15cm
- Look for it
- All year round
- Where
- Rainforest in Central and South America, along paths, rivers and clearings
Flashes after you, blue then gone. Move your pointer and see.
When to look
Blue morpho
Good to know
Six things about the blue morpho
Now you see it
The underside is dull brown. In flight the blue appears and vanishes with every beat, which makes it very hard for a bird to follow.
Eyes underneath
The brown underside has a row of eyespots that may startle or distract an attacker.
It drinks rotten fruit
Adults do not visit flowers much. They feed on fermenting fruit, sap and damp mud.
Seen from far away
The flash of a morpho's wings can be seen from several hundred metres.
Copied by engineers
The structure of its scales has been copied to make paints, fabrics and banknote markings that never fade.
The real thing
Photos of the blue morpho
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
How to spot one
Walk a forest trail or a stream bank in the morning sun. Morphos patrol along the open strip, and come to fallen fruit. Take an adult with you.
How to help
It needs standing forest. Butterfly farms in Central and South America breed morphos, which gives people a living from keeping the forest.
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