Morpho achilles

Morpho achilles, the Achilles morpho, blue-banded morpho, or banded blue morpho, is a Neotropical butterfly.

Morpho achilles
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Morpho
Species:	M. achilles
Binomial name
Morpho achilles (Linnaeus, 1758)

Etymology

The genus name Morpho comes from the Greek epithet of Aphrodite, goddess of love. Achilles was a Greek hero of the Trojan War, the central character of Homer's Iliad.

Description

In Morpho achilles patroclus, the dorsal sides of the forewings are black, with two broad vertical bands of brilliant blue. The undersides of the hindwings are olive brownish, with several ocelli formed by blue, yellow, and red concentric rings.

Subspecies

• M. a. achilles (Linnaeus, 1758) – Brazil, Suriname, and Guyana
• M. a. agamedes Fruhstorfer, 1912 – Peru
• M. a. fischeri Weber, 1962 – Peru
• M. a. glaisi Le Moult & Réal, 1962 – Venezuela
• M. a. guaraunos Le Moult, 1925 – Venezuela
• M. a. guerrerensis Le Moult & Réal, 1962
• M. a. patroclus C. & R. Felder, 1861 – Colombia
• M. a. phokylides Fruhstorfer, 1912 – Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, and Brazil
• M. a. theodorus Fruhstorfer, 1907 – Ecuador
• M. a. vitrea Butler, 1866 – Bolivia

Biology

The caterpillars feed on various species of climbing plants (Dalbergia, Inga, Machaerium, Machaerium aculeatum, Myrocarpus, Platymiscium, and Pterocarpus), while the adults mainly feed on rotting fruits or fermenting juice and tree sap.

Distribution

This species can be found over a huge range of countries, particularly in Argentina, Suriname, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, Paraguay, and Brazil.

Gallery

• 
  Ventral view
• 
  Dorsal view
• 
  Museum specimen from Mato Grosso, Brazil

See also

• Tropical Andes

References

• Le Moult (E.) & Réal (P.), 1962-1963. Les Morpho d'Amérique du Sud et Centrale, Editions du cabinet entomologique E. Le Moult, Paris.
• Paul Smart, 1976 The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Butterfly World in Color. London, Salamander: Encyclopedie des papillons. Lausanne, Elsevier Sequoia (French language edition) ISBN 9780948427046 ISBN 0600313816 page 236 fig. 5 as patroclus ssp. orestes Weber, underside (Peru), page 237 fig. 9 (Brazil), page 237 fig. 12 as patroclus ssp. orestes Weber, upperside (Peru).

External links

• Media related to Morpho achilles at Wikimedia Commons
• Butterflies of America Images of type and other specimens
• NRM Holotype of Morpho achilles roqueensis Bryk, 1953.
• "Morpho Fabricius, 1807" at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
• Blue Banded Morpho