| Morpho achilles | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nymphalidae |
| Genus: | Morpho |
| Species: | M. achilles |
| Binomial name | |
| Morpho achilles (Linnaeus, 1758) |
|
The Achilles, Achilles Morpho, Blue-banded Morpho, or Banded Blue Morpho (Morpho achilles) is a Neotropical butterfly.
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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 underside of the hindwings is olive-brownish, with several ocelli formed by blue, yellow, red and red concentric rings. The caterpillars feed on various species of climbing legumes, 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, Surinam, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, Paraguay, and Brazil.