Morpho menelaus

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iMenelaus Blue Morpho

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Subkingdom: Hexapoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Infraclass: Neoptera
Superorder: Endopterygota
Order: Lepidoptera
Suborder: Ditrysia
Infraorder: Rhopalocera
Superfamily: Papilionoidea
Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Morphinae
Tribe: Morphini
Subtribe: Morphina
Genus: Morpho
Species: M. menelaus
Binomial name
Morpho menelaus
Linnaeus, 1758
The underside of a (dead) blue morpho butterfly.
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The underside of a (dead) blue morpho butterfly.

The menelaus Blue Morpho (Morpho menelaus) is an iridescent tropical butterfly of Central and South America. It has a wing span of 6 inches (15 centimeters). The adult drinks juice from rotten fruit with its long proboscis, which is like a sucking tube. The adult males have brighter colors than the females.

The larva eat plants at night. The larva is red-brown in color with bright patches of lime-green or yellow. The larvae are also highly cannibalistic.

[edit] External links

description of Morpho menelaus

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