Animal profile

Blue Morpho

Morpho menelaus

InsectaLowland tropical rainforest, chiefly the understorey and forest edge

Field profile

A large neotropical nymphalid whose upper wing surfaces flash brilliant blue in flight while the undersides are cryptic brown with eyespots. Adults feed on fermenting fruit and tree sap rather than nectar. The blue is produced by wing scale microstructure, not pigment.

Published field notes

2025-05-30

Blue Morpho

The morpho's blue contains no blue pigment

Grinding a morpho's wing to powder yields brown dust. The colour comes from layered ridges on the wing scales that cancel most wavelengths and reflect blue, which is why the shade shifts with viewing angle.

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