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The Menelaus blue morpho (Morpho menelaus) is one of thirty species of butterfly in the subfamily Morphinae. [1] Its wingspan is approximately 12 cm (4.7"), and its dorsal forewings and hindwings are a bright, iridescent blue edged with black, while the ventral surfaces are brown. [ 2 ]
This is a list of butterflies of the Amazon River basin and the Andes. The Amazon River basin may be the most speciose region for butterflies . Nine countries have territory in the Amazon River basin or immediately adjoin this region: Brazil , Bolivia , Peru , Ecuador , Colombia , Venezuela , Guyana , Suriname , and French Guiana .
The brilliant blue color in the butterfly's wings is caused by the diffraction of the light from millions of tiny scales on its wings. It uses this to frighten away predators, by flashing its wings rapidly. The wingspan of the blue morpho butterfly ranges from 7.5–20 cm (3.0–7.9 in).
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The people along the Rio Negro in Brazil once exploited the territorial habits of the blue morpho (M. menelaus) by luring them into clearings with bright blue decoys. The collected butterfly wings were used as embellishment for ceremonial masks. Adult morpho butterflies feed on the juices of fermenting fruit with which they may also be lured.
These butterflies occur in tropical rainforest across the Amazon basin and from the eastern slopes of the Andes. [5] They can usually be found high in the canopy, but sometimes they are also present on the lower foliage of trees and on humid cacao-groves on fallen fruits.
Morpho didius, the giant blue morpho, is a Neotropical butterfly belonging to the subfamily Morphinae of family Nymphalidae. It is considered, by some authors, to be a subspecies of Morpho menelaus .
Birds of the Amazon rainforest (9 C, 524 P) F. ... Fauna of the Amazon rainforest; List of butterflies of the Amazon River basin and the Andes; A. Acalle (sponge ...