Here is another beautiful butterfly from my Butterfly Pavilion visit . . . the Blue Morpho butterfly. The opened wings of this butterfly are a vivid blue color and are shiny, reflecting the light. To compensate for this blue color, which could catch the attention of predators, the underside of the butterfly's wings are covered in shades of brown, red, black, and grey. Their undersides also feature "eyespots" which deter predators when the butterflies are at rest and their wings are closed.
They are one of the largest butterflies in the world, measuring around 6 inches (15 cm) long and with wing spans of up to 8 inches (20 cm). They can be found throughout the forests of South and Central America, though their habitat extends into North America.
If you are interested, I found a short (22 seconds) YouTube video showing the Blue Morpho in slow motion, which shows the vivid blue opened wings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otVnJhTOBB8
Great photograph. And thank for posting that YouTube link. While at You Tube, I came across this video about how the butterflies create the blue color of their wings without the use of blue pigment. Don't know if you saw it, So I thought I would post the link here for you. Very nice photo, btw. Thanks for posting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29Ts7CsJDpg
@mbrutus Thank you so much for the additional video link! No, I hadn't viewed it but I certainly have now and will probably view it several more times. Wow! So interesting! Nature is so incredibly amazing! Thank you again! :-)
This is a beautiful pic, and interesting info in your narrative.