If you’ve visited a tropical butterfly house before, you know what an amazing experience it is …especially in winter.
Surrounded by beautiful butterflies and flowering plants from around the world, it’s a visual feast for the eyes.
But among the many species you might find, the one that often captures the most attention is the Common Blue Morpho.
Found in tropical rainforests from Mexico to South America, these beautiful butterflies have a wingspan of 5 to 8 inches. In regard to their appearance, they seem to have a split personality.
Spending much of the day on the forest floor and in the lower understory of the forest, they typically feed and rest with their wings folded up, displaying the underside of their wings which are dull brown in color with patterns that help them disappear into their surroundings. For predators that get too close, a number of large eye spots can make them appear like a not-so-easy meal.
But it’s the dazzling blue topside of their wings that captures the most attention. Providing an alternating view of the top and bottom of the wings as they fly, blue morphos look like an electric blue strobe light, flashing on and off as these beautiful butterflies glide through the forest.
While most people imagine butterflies sipping nectar from flowers, Blue Morphos are frugivores (or fruit feeders), primarily feeding on the sugars from decaying fruit.
If you are lucky enough to visit the tropical rainforests of Mexico or Central or South America …or are visiting a tropical butterfly house that’s a little closer to home …keep an eye out for the flashing blue shimmer of the Blue Morpho Butterfly.