Morpho peleides

Common Blue Morpho or The Emperor

Basic Information

General information

Family: “Nymphalidae”
Sub Family: “Morphinae”
Estimated Lifespan 14 Days

Garden Specific Information

Estimated Number In Flight: 0
Total Number of Pupae Received: 13440
First Flown On: 10/21/02
Last Flown On: 09/19/24

Species Range:

  • “NorthAmerica” “SouthAmerica”

Host plants:

  • Macharium
  • Pterocarpus
  • Lonchovarpus
  • Platymiscium
  • Swatria
  • Dahlbergia
  • Bucuna
  • Paragonia

Food Source

Adults prefer to feed from rotten fruit or sap from trees.

Etymology Of Name

Morpho in Greek mythology refers to Morpheus the god of dreams. The specie peleides is currently unknown.

Habitat

The Common Blue Morpho are usually found in tropical forest on either the forest floor or the surrounding understory.

Life history

Males do most of their patrolling in the early part of the day while the females tend to do most of their flying in the midday. After mating the females take care to lay each egg singly on the host plants. After emerging from their eggs the larvae feed on the host plants until they form their pupae.

Flights

There are multiple generations each year which make it possible to find adults flying throughout the year.

Fun Facts

The color and patterns seen on most butterflies is created by the color pigments of overlapping scales. In the case of the Common Blue Morpho the scales on the inside are like small prisms which makes the color iridescent. Because of the iridescent scales the Common Blue Morpho can appear to change color as it flies through the air.