Morpho achilles
| Morpho achilles | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nymphalidae |
| Genus: | Morpho |
| Species: | M. achilles |
| Binomial name | |
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Morpho achilles (Linnaeus, 1758) |
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Morpho achilles, the Achilles morpho, blue-banded morpho or banded blue morpho, is a Neotropical butterfly.
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.
In Morpho achilles, 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, red and red concentric rings.
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.
This species can be found over a huge range of countries, particularly in Argentina, Suriname, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, Paraguay, and Brazil.
Ventral view
Dorsal view
Museum specimen from Mato Grosso, Brazil
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