Thai Butterfly - Blue Morpho

**dirtydog** · 27-02-2010, 11:52 AM

I noticed some of my butterflies are losing their colors, suppose being dead doesn't help them, so anyway before they lose all their colors I decided it was time to start photographing the best looking ones.

This one is the Blue Morpho, there are about 80 species of these and can be found in South America, Mexico, and of course Thailand and the rest of south east Asia, this one I bought in Malaysia Penang, think it was around 500 baht.

They have a total lifespan of just over 4 months, as a caterpillar they are red and brown with patches of lime or yellow color on them, and of course being such a nice looking butterfly it has stinging hairs as a caterpillar, as a butterfly it will live for 2 or 3 weeks, obviously that is unless a Thai catches hold of it.

Nice reflective wings of iredescent blues and greens.

The picture is about 3 times the size of the butterfly, in reality the butterfly is around 7cm long.

Thai Butterflies Main Page.

Here's a video of the Morpho Didius of which the above is in the same family but this one lived in South America.

**daffodildeb** · 03-01-2011, 12:18 PM

Sorry, you've misidentified this specimen, and you couldn't be more off in your geography! This isn't a "blue Morpho butterfly." It is actually a moth--one of the so-called day-flying moths. This is Urania ripheus madagascarensis, from the island of Madagascar (off southern Africa). It isn't even remotely related to any of the Morpho genus!

You are also incorrect when you state Morphos are found in Thailand. They are not native to part of Asia.

**nidhogg** · 03-01-2011, 01:19 PM

Originally Posted by dirtydog

I noticed some of my butterflies are losing their colors, suppose being dead doesn't help them, so anyway before they lose all their colors I decided it was time to start photographing the best looking ones.

Thought butterfly wing colour did not fade? Are they not made up of a structural colour rather than a pigment (which would fade?).

Thought the colour came from gyroids, in which case dead or alive would not matter?

**Zone** · 03-01-2011, 02:20 PM

I was an amateur Lepidopterist when I was at school, We were taught butterfly had stick antennae & moths had fern style.I'm sure there are some exceptions.
The colour fades with exposure to light of any kind after the wing is pegged out, my collection was always covered with heavy black cloth.
The colour, from what I remember is on each scale. strange looking things under a microscope.

**Bettyboo** · 03-01-2011, 02:38 PM

Never imagined you to be a moth collector, DD.

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