Morpho rhetenor
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| Morpho rhetenor | ||||||||||||
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Morpho rhetenor , male with absent abdomen. |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Morpho rhetenor | ||||||||||||
| ( Cramer , 1775) |
Morpho rhetenor is a butterfly ( butterfly ) fromthe noble butterfly family (Nymphalidae). The English name Blue Morpho (German: Blauer Morphofalter ) is misleading because it can also refer to Morpho peleides .
features
The moths reach a wingspan of up to 17 centimeters and thus belong to the larger morpho butterfly species. As with many morpho butterflies, the wings have a blue-shimmering basic color. The blue of the forewings is only interrupted by delicate white spots that run parallel to the edge of the wing and the black wing tips. The hind wings are completely blue in color, except for the brown areas that lie on the body. The underside is kept completely in shades of brown, which become lighter towards the middle of the body. As with M. peleides, there is a row of eye-spots along the lower edge of the wing. The females usually grow larger than the males.
Subspecies
By M. rethenor two subspecies are known:
- Morpho rhetenor cacica ( Staudinger , 1876)
- Morpho rhetenor helena ( Staudinger , 1890)
Occurrence
Morpho rethenor occurs in the rainforests of the Neotropics . Its distribution area extends over all of South America and Central America . The species is not under any special protection.
biology
The caterpillars live on tropical grasses , including bamboo . Like all other blue-colored morpho butterflies, the butterflies are easily attracted to shimmering blue objects.
