- Morpho menelaus
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Morpho menelaus 
Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Lepidoptera Family: Nymphalidae Genus: Morpho Species: M. menelaus Binomial name Morpho menelaus
(Linnaeus, 1758)The Menelaus Blue Morpho (Morpho menelaus) is an iridescent tropical butterfly of Central and South America. It has a wing span of 15 cm (5.9 in). 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 larvae eat plants at night. The larvae are red-brown in colour with bright patches of lime-green or yellow. The larvae are also highly cannibalistic.
It is similar in range and colouration to the Peleides Blue Morpho (Morpho peleides).
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Etymology
Morpho menelaus was named in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus (as Papilio menelaus) to honour the Greek mythological figure Menelaus, a king of Ancient Sparta.
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.
In popular culture
Two views (dorsal and ventral) of same specimen
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, Go!.
The blue morpho is also a pivotal symbol in the 2010 videogame BioShock 2, where it represents the revolutionary movement known as the "Rapture Family" and intended "rebirth" of the city. Character Gideon Wyborn explains the choice by noting that its caterpillar "doesn't spin a cocoon... it just grows armor on the inside... before the change. It is us."[1] Paper blue morpho broaches are initially worn to secretly identify members of "the family" to each other, and it eventually becomes a form of religious image associated with the messianic Eleanor Lamb. It was also seen at the end of the game's teaser trailer.[2]
The blue morpho is also important in the computer game The Amazon Trail. To win, you must take a picture of the blue morpho to please the Inca King.
References
External links
Categories:- Morphos
- Butterflies and moths of South America
- Animals described in 1758
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