Morpho didius

Morpho didius
Dorsal view of male (MHNT)
Ventral view of same specimen
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Morpho
Species:	M. didius
Binomial name
Morpho didius Hopffer, 1874
Synonyms
Morpho didius f. incomptaTalbot, 1929 Morpho didius hypanophthalmaNiepelt, 1934 Morpho didius f. flavolimbataNiepelt, 1934 Morpho didius f. bipunctata Rousseau-Decelle, 1935 Morpho didius f. subrufaRousseau-Decelle, 1935 Morpho didius didius f. albomarginalisWeber, 1951 Morpho (Grasseia) didius pseudassarpai Le Moult & Réal, 1962 Morpho (Grasseia) didius didius f. destitutaLe Moult & Réal, 1962 Morpho (Grasseia) didius didius f. rubiginosaLe Moult & Réal, 1962 Morpho (Grasseia) didius didius f. decomptaLe Moult & Réal, 1962 Morpho (Grasseia) didius didius f. decempunctataLe Moult & Réal, 1962 Morpho (Grasseia) didius didius f. nucleataLe Moult & Réal, 1962 Morpho (Grasseia) didius didius f. dilutaLe Moultt & Réal, 1962 Morpho (Grasseia) didius f. limbataLe Moult & Réal, 1962 Morpho (Grasseia) didius didius f. scopiferaLe Moult & Réal, 1962 Morpho (Grasseia) didius didius f. atlasLe Moult & Réal, 1962 Morpho (Grasseia) didius f. caecaLe Moult & Réal, 1962 Morpho (Grasseia) didius didius f. nanaLe Moult & Réal, 1962 Morpho (Grasseia) occidentalis kruegeri f. stygiaLe Moult & Réal, 1962 Morpho (Grasseia) godarti [sic] assarpai f. coelicolorLe Moult & Réal, 1962

Morpho didius, the metallic blue morpho, is a Neotropical butterfly belonging to the subfamily Morphinae of family Nymphalidae. It is considered, by some authors, to be a subspecies of Morpho menelaus .

Description

Morpho didius
This specimen is a gynandromorph (Musée d'histoire naturelle de Lille).

Morpho didius has a wingspan reaching 150 millimetres (5.9 in), making it one of the largest of Morpho species. The dorsal side of the wings are iridescent and metallic blue, and the forewings are quite elongated.

Distribution

This species can be found in Peru.

Biology

The larva feeds on palm trees.

References

• BioLib.cz
• "Morpho Fabricius, 1807" at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
• Butterflies of America Images of type and other specimens of Morpho menelaus didius.
• Better Butterfly Creations
• Paul Smart, 1976 The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Butterfly World in Color. London, Salamander: Encyclopedie des papillons. Lausanne, Elsevier Sequoia (French language edition) ISBN   9780948427046 ISBN   0600313816 page 235 fig. 7 female (Peru)