Grey Morpho, Morpho telemachus ssp. exsusarion (Le Moult & Réal, 1962).

Quijarro, Caranavi, Yungas, Bolivia January 20, 2016. Photographer; Peter Møllmann

Amphitryon Morpho, Morpho amphitryon ssp. susarion (Fruhstorfer, 1913).

Copacabana, Caranavi, Yungas, Bolivia January 23, 2016. Photographer; Peter Møllmann

In Bolivia it is:
Morpho rhetenor ssp. subtusmurina (Le Moult & Réal, 1962) exists.

Introduction:

Description: Andrew Neild ( author of Butterflies of Venezuela) describes the differences between Morpho helenor and M. achilles thus: "In helenor the submarginal whitish band on the underside hindwing widens towards the apex and is usually widest at the apex in achilles it narrows towards the apex, and is usually wider / widest in its mid section. Also, but not always, on the FW, in space 3 (the one that usually has the biggest FW ocellus), the broad pale band is almost always crescent-shaped. In achilles it is usually triangular, or if nearly crescent-shaped, wider than it is in sympatric helenor".

Wingspan: 100-120mm.

Habitats: This species is found in terrace forests along rivers in the lowlands to wet tropical forests and small farms along the river valleys of the smaller mountains up to Andean cloudforest at altitudes of up to about 1800m in Coroico valley.

Flightseason:

Foodplants: Palo de hoz, Machaerium lunatum (Fabaceae). Machaerium lunatum varies in habit from an evergreen shrub to small tree growing up to 5 metres tall, to a climbing shrub producing cylindrical stems up to 15 metres long and 12cm in diameter that climb into the surrounding vegetation.

The plant is sometimes harvested from the wild for local medicinal use.

And other foodplants are Peanut, Arachis hypogaea (Fabaceae). Parivo'a, Macrolobium bifolium (Fabaceae) and Coinvine, Dalbergia ecastaphyllum (Fabaceae) and Ice Cream Beans, Inga edulis (Mimosaceae). When you open Ice Cream bellows are the beans in a white fluff. Are a delicacy when you are feel a little hungry in the forest and tastes like ice cream.

Distribution: Bolivia; Andean foothills. Buena Vista, Villa Tunari (Cochabamba), Rio Beni basin to Caranavi and Coroico valley. And Bolivian lowland (Santa Cruz. Brazil; Cuiabá, Mato Grosso.

Morpho helenor ssp. theodorus (Fruhstorfer 1907), lives in Amazonian moist tropical rainforests in western and northern Bolivia.

Another subspecies;
Morpho helenor ssp. coelestis (A. Butler, 1866), is common in moist fog forests (Bolivian Yungas), but also occurs in the north and northeast.

Steffen Reichle December 22, 2019.
We describe a new subspecies:
Morpho helenor ssp. prometa (Gareca & Blandin, 2011) from southern Andean Yungas.

Link to facebookgroup about Morpho helenor ssp. prometa

Most species have an iridescent blue color on top. The blue color on the upper side due to refraction of light in the delicate tight scales which lack color pigment scales sits right advanced so they can display the entire color scale in a few moments when the light is broken at the right angle. The underside is often in brown shades, bearing Eyed in various sizes that reveal their family connection to Satyr family (Satyrinae).

There are also white Morphos; (M. epistrophus & M. polyphemus) and Morphos; brown with gray or orange bands on the upper side (M. Hecuba & M. Telemachus).

The origin of Morphinae dates back about 55 MY and occurred in the Brazilian Shield (Mata Atlantica), the oldest part of Sout America that emerged. Considering the length of the evolutionary period, the number of species of Morpho (30) proves quite limited, especially if one considers the immense size of their geographical distribution. This small number contrast with the considerable number of subspecies: at last 220.

The single species Morpho helenor has branched out into 48 subspecies spread from Tamaulipas, Mexico's east coast, Central America, Amazonian basin to northern Argentina. The diversity of subspecies is due, to a large extent, to the fact that Morpho are not migratory?

De blå Morphoer (Morphini), er de mest kendte dagsommerfugle fra Sydamerika, ofte store op til 20 cm. i vingefang, hvor Morpho hecuba er den største dagsommerfugl i den neotropiske verdensdel. Der findes også morphoer helt ned til 7,5 cm i størrelse, hvor M. sulkowskyi & M. aurora er  de små arter som typisk findes i større højder på Andesbjergenes østlige skråninger.

De fleste arter har et iriserende blå farve på oversiden. Den blå farve på oversiden skyldes brydning af lyset i de fine tætsiddende skæl som mangler farve pigment, skællene sidder ret avanceret så de kan vise hele farve-skalaen i nogle få øjeblikke når lyset brydes i den rette vinkel. Undersiden som ofte er i brune nuancer, er forsynet med øjepletter i forskellige størrelser, der afslører deres slægtsforbindelse til randøjerne (satyrinae).

Der findes også hvide morphoer (M. epistrophus, M. polyphemus) og brune morphoer med grå eller orange bånd på oversiden (M. hecuba, M. telemachus).

Oprindelsen af Morphinae går tilbage til omkring for 55 milioner år siden, og fandt sted på den brasilianske kontinentalplade (Mata Atlantica), den ældste del af Sydamerika der er opstået føt pladerne fra vest pressede sig under, og dermed opstod Andesbjergene.

I betragtning af længden af den evolutionære periode, antallet af arter af Morpho (30) som er ret begrænset, især hvis man betragter den enorme størrelse af deres geografiske udbredelse. Men det er tankevækkende det lille antal arter kontrast de mange underarter, ialt 22o underarter.

F.eks. har Morpho helenor hele 48 underarter udbredt fra Tamaulipas, Mexico østkyst, Mellemamerika, Amazonas til Andesbjergene i det centrale Sydamerika til nordlig Argentina.

__________________________________________________________

In Bolivia, I have seen 13 species of 45 species Morphini genus contained in the neotropiske region: Antirrhea (13) Caerois (2) Morpho (30). Their distribution is from Mexico north to Misiones, Argentina in the south. Link to Morphini genus of Bolivian Butterflies Checklist.

Bolivian Morphini species: Antirrhea (6) Caerois (1) Morpho (17)

I Bolivia har jeg set 12 arter af de 45 arter Morphini genus der findes i den neotropiske region: Antirrhea (13), Caerois (2), Morpho (30). Deres udbredelse er fra Mexico i nord til Misiones, Argentina i syd. Link til Morphini genus på Bolivian Butterflies Checklist.

Reference to:

Les Morpho

14th october 2016

Les Morpho: Distribution, diversification, behavior
Jean-Marc Gayman; Franck Merlier; Jacques Ouvaroff; Bruce Purser; Daniel Lacomme

Editor of France Lépidoptéristes Association

On Nouveautés Éditeurs the retail price (including VAT): £ 115

408 pages; 30.5 x 22 cm; joined
ISBN 978-2-9558531-0-8
EAN 9782955853108

De flotte blå Morpho hanner ses ofte langs floder og små vandløb, hvor de flyver søgende efter damer og er territorale og jagter andre hanner væk. Morphoerne går til råddent frugt og suger mineraler på sandbanker langs vandløb. Hunnerne lever en mere skjult tilværelse oppe i løvet, og ses sjældent. Morpho'ernes habitat er regnskovene i den tropiske zone, der er dog enkelte arter som Morpho sulkowskyi der findes fra 2000 m. op til 2900 m.h. i tågeskovene på Andesbjergenes østskråninger.

Morpho menelaus ssp. godartii

Morpho menelaus ssp. godartii f. titogilberti

Giant Light-blue Morpho, Morpho menelaus ssp. godartii  f. titogilberti (Blandin & Gareca, 2011) male.
Caturapi, Yungas, Bolivia february 1, 2018. Photographer; Peter Møllmann

Morpho menelaus ssp. godartii f. lachaumei

Giant Light-blue Morpho, Morpho menelaus ssp. godartii  f. lachaumei (Blandin, 2007) male.
Rio Cristal, Caranavi highlands, Yungas, Bolivia february 19, 2018. Photographer; Peter Møllmann

Giant Light-blue Morpho, Morpho menelaus ssp. godartii  f. lachaumei (Blandin, 2007) male.
Bella Vista, Caranavi highlands, Yungas, Bolivia february 24, 2018. Photographer; Peter Møllmann

____

Morpho menelaus ssp. godartii male

Giant Light-blue Morpho, Morpho menelaus ssp. godartii  f. lachaumei (Blandin, 2007) male.
Caranavi Highlands, Yungas, Bolivia  February 2019. Photographer; Peter Møllmann

Giant Light-blue Morpho, Morpho godartii ssp. lachaumei (Blandin, 2007).
Caranavi, Yungas, Bolivia February 2014. Photographer; Peter Møllmann

_____________________________

Morpho marcus ssp. intermedia

Adonis Morpho, Morpho marcus ssp. intermedia (Kaye, 1917). Pusiliani, Caranavi, Yungas, Bolivia january 7, 2020. Photographer; Peter Møllmann

Pusiliani , Caranavi, Yungas, Bolivia d. 29 december 2019. Photographer; Peter Møllman.

Peter Møllmann; From one of my favorit locations, Pusiliani near Caranavi Bolivia.
Many morphos, I saw Morpho species;
Morpho helenor, M. achilles, M. deidamia, M. rhetenor, M. telemachus, M. cisseis and M. marcus.

________

Quijarro 935m, Caranavi Valley /Highlands, Yungas, Bolivia January 23, 2022. Photographer; Peter Møllmann

Adonis Morpho, Morpho marcus ssp. intermedia (Schaller, 1785) male.
Quijarro 935 m., Caranavi Valley, Yungas, Bolivia January 23, 2022. Photographer; Nikolaj Kleissl

_____________________________

Morpho deidamia ssp. electra

In most Morphos, the males are colorful, it supports the theory that the blue color is used for internal sexual (intra-sexual) communication between males. Its scale-lamellae reflect up to 70% of all light that falls on them, including ultraviolet (UV) light. Morphos eyes are believed to be very sensitive to UV light and therefore are males able to see each other from quite large distances. Some South American species are reportedly visible to the human eye up to one kilometer away.

Hos de fleste morphoer er det hannerne der er farverige, det støtter teorien om, at den blå farve, bruges til intern sexuel (intrasexual) kommunikation imellem hannerne. Dens skæl-lameller afspejler op til hele 70% af lyset der falder på dem, herunder ultravioletlys (UV). Morphoernes øjne menes at være meget følsomme over for UV-lys og derfor er hannerne i stand til at se hinanden fra ret store afstande. Nogle sydamerikanske arter er angiveligt synlige for det menneskelige øje op til en kilometer væk.

The advantage of collectors, who lures them with a piece of blue foil, Morphos think the blue film is a rival he. There is a tribe along the Rio Negro in Brazil exploiting Blue Morphos (M. Menelaus) male territorial behavior by luring them into clearings with light blue decoys. The collected butterfly wings are used as decoration in ceremonial masks.

Det udnytter samlere, som lokker dem med et stykke blåt folie, for morphoen tror det blå folie er en konkurrerende han. Der er en stamme langs Rio Negro i Brasilien der udnytter Blue Morpho (M. Menelaus) hanners territoriale vaner ved at lokke dem i lysninger med lyseblå lokkedyr. De indsamlede sommerfugle vinger bliver brugt som udsmykning i ceremonielle masker.

_____________________________

Morpho deidamia in slow motion

by Peter Møllmann

9th december 2017

Deidamia Morpho, Morpho deidamia ssp. electra (Röber, 1903) male.
From Caranavi Bolivia december 8, 2017. Made with sony experia xz premium. Photographer; Peter Møllmann

Scarce Morpho, Morpho deidamia ssp. electra (Röber, 1903). From Caranavi Bolivia december 11, 2021. Copyright pedromariposa / Peter Møllmann. 240 fps samsung 21ultra.

_____________________________

Scarce Morpho, Morpho deidamia ssp. electra (Röber, 1903) male. Caranavi, Yungas, Bolivia december 10, 2018. Photographer; Peter Møllmann

_____________________________

Morpho lympharis

Females lay eggs on misc. legumes, Fabales, one of the largest systems in the plant kingdom with approx. 17,000 species belonging to one family, papilionaceous plants (Fabaceae, Leguminosae). The family consists of three sub-families; caesalpinia, mimose and legumes sub-family. In Families often considered previously as independent families. As the name says, is the fruit a pod. One of the most familiar legumes are Brazilwood. - The tree, which put its name to half the world ... (Leguminosae) - Brazilwood.

The smaller Morpho species from the Andean mountain like the Morpho aurora, M. lympharis and M. zephyrites use Andean bamboo, Chusquea species (Poaceae).

The hairy brown caterpillars that live in colonies are quite toxic, and their hair will irritate the skin when touched. The total life cycle of Morphos butterfly, from egg to death, is approximately 130 to 140 days. The adult (imago) butterflies live about a month's time. They exist in several consecutive generations offset from each other year round, but mostly in the rainy season. In drought time goes on they are often in a diapause. Morphos However, enemies, there is a parasitic fly that lives in the adult butterfly's abdomen, making it to had a strange behavior in its last life. Morphos, whose name was inspired by Morpheus who had dreams god in Greek mythology.

Hunnen lægger æg på div. bælgplanter,  Fabales, en af de største ordener i planteriget med ca. 17.000 arter, der tilhører én familie, ærteblomstfamilien (Fabaceae, Leguminosae). Familien består af tre underfamilier; caesalpinia-, mimose- og ærtblomst-underfamilien. Underfamilierne betragtedes tidligere ofte som selvstændige familier. Som navnet siger, er frugten en bælg. En af de mest kendte bælgplanter er BRASILTRÆ. - Træet, der lagde navn til en halv verdensdel ... (Leguminosae) – Brazilwood.

De mindre Morpho arter oppe i bjergene som Morpho aurora, M. lympharis og M. zephyritis bruger Andes bambus, Chusquea arter (Poaceae).

De hårede brune larver som lever i kolonier er ret giftige, og deres hår vil irritere huden ved berøring. Den samlede livscyklus for Morpho sommerfugl, fra æg til døden, er ca 130 til 140 dage. De voksne (imago) sommerfugle lever omkring en måneds tid. De findes i flere fortløbende generationer forskudt fra hinanden året rundt, dog flest i regntiden. I tørketiden går de ofte i en diapause.  Morphoerne har dog fjender, der findes en parasitflue der lever i den voksne sommerfugls bagkrop, som gør at den kan havde en mærkelig adfærd i dens sidste levetid.  Morpho, hvis navn er inspireret af Morfeus som var drømmenes gud i den græske mytologi.

_____________________________

Morpho aurora

Aurora Morpho, Morpho aurora (Westwood, 1851) male. Murata, Yungas february 9, 2009. Photographer; Lars Andeersen

The spectacular blue Morphos bred in commercial breeding programs, where iridescent wings are used for the manufacture of jewelry and messages in wooden tray and the like. One species (Morpho rhetenor) is very popular in butterfly boxes, they Morphos butterflies are often sold without abdomen, as it is removed because its oily contents would otherwise discolour wings. There is a large export of live Morphos-pupae for use in div. tropic and butterfly houses in the western world.

Aurora Morpho, Morpho aurora (Westwood, 1851) male. Caranavi, Yungas december 10, 2014. Photographer; Peter Møllmann

Aurora Morpho, Morpho aurora (Westwood, 1851) female. Caranavi Highlands, Yungas, Bolivia december 11, 2018. Photographer; Peter Møllmann

De spektakulære blå morphoer opdrættes i kommercielle avlsprogrammer, hvor de iriserende vinger, anvendes til fremstilling af smykker og som indlæg i træbakker og lign. En art (Morpho rhetenor) er meget populære i sommerfuglekasser, de præparerede dyr sælges ofte uden bagkrop, da den er fjernet fordi dens olieagtige indhold ellers vil misfarve vingerne. Der foregår en stor eksport af de levende morpho-pupper til brug i div. trope og sommerfuglehuse i den vestlige verden.

Aurora Morpho, Morpho aurora (Westwood, 1851) male. Caranavi, Yungas january 3, 2009. Photographer; Peter Møllmann

__________

Morpho aurora in slow motion

by Peter Møllmann

3th december 2017

Aurora Morpho, Morpho aurora (Westwood, 1851) male.
From the highlands near Caranavi Bolivia december 3, 2017.
Made with sony experia xz premium. Photographer; Peter Møllmann

_____________________________

Morpho aurora from Rio Tunki Bolivia 240fps

d. 29 march 2020

Rio Tunki 1738 m., Caranavi, Yungas, Bolivia february 2020. Photographer; Peter Møllmann

_____________________________

Caerois chorinaeus protonoe

Caerois chorinaeus ssp. rufomarginata (Lathy, 1918).
Porvenir, Manuripi. Pando Department, Bolivia september 11, 2022. Photographer; Gottfried Siebel

_____________________________

Antirrhea philaretes avernus

Morpho'erne has also played supporting roles in movies like "Papillon" where Henri "Papillon" Charrière who becomes innocently convicted for the murder of a pimp and sent to a French penal colony in French Guinea, South America. One of the scenes in the movie are from the jungle, where the prisoners are set to capture Morphos. Their scale was again used for banknotes!

Morpho'erne har også spillet biroller i film som "Papillon" hvor Henri "Papillon" Charrieres som bliver uskyldigt dømt for mordet på en alfons og sendt til en fransk straffekoloni i Fransk Guinea, Sydamerika. En af scenerne i filmen er fra junglen, hvor fangerne er sat til at fange morphoerne. Deres skæl blev den gang brugt til pengesedler!

d. 22 marts 2009. Lars Andersen