Butterfly populations are a very good indicator of the health of an area's ecosystem !!

   The entire life cycle of a blue morpho butterfly from egg to adult to death is just 115 days. (Once they break out of the cocoon as adults, they live only about a month.)
   The blue morpho butterfly is a large butterfly species with a wingspan of up to 8 inches, yet some individuals can have a wingspan as small as 3 inches.
   Though beautiful, they can be smelly. When threatened, adult Morpho butterflies will release a pungent smell from a gland located between their front legs. The odor helps deter predators.
   These butterflies are diurnal and most active when the sun is shining. Their eyes are highly sensitive to UV light and the males are particularly adept at spotting each other across great distances. 

Avg. Wingspan: 12.7 - 20.3 cm / 5 - 8 "

Diet: adults drink the juices of rotting fruit, tree sap, decomposing animals and fungi.

Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Arthropoda

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Class: Insecta, Order: Lepidoptera

* Because the Blue Morpho dines primarily on rotting fruit, it does not pollinate any flowers.

   ** Blue Morphos are not actually blue. They have no pigment to make them blue.

   Instead, they have scales on their wings that overlap to refract light the way that a prism does. When light hits the wings, it is refracted against the scales, and gives the appearance of blue.

* Being Brush-footed butterflies, Morphos have a short pair of fore legs that are used to taste food, and two pairs of longer rear legs that are used for propulsion.

The single biggest threat to butterfly survival is habitat destruction!!