Morpho achilles

• Overview
• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Description

Family Nymphalidae

'The Nymphalidae are members of the Superfamily Papilionoidea, the true butterflies. Distributed worldwide, butterflies of this family are especially rich in the tropics. They are highly variable, and there are more species in this family than in any other. Adults vary in size from small to large, and their front legs are reduced, unable to be used for walking. Wing shape is also highly variable: some species have irregular margins (anglewings and commas), and others have long taillike projections (daggerwings). Browns, oranges, yellows, and blacks are frequent colors, while iridescent colors such as purples and blues are rare. Adults of some groups are the longest-lived butterflies, surviving 6-11 months. Adult feeding behavior depends on the species, where some groups primarily seek flower nectar while others only feed on sap flows , rotting fruit, dung, or animal carcasses. Males exhibit perching and patrolling behaviors when seeking mates. Egg-laying varies widely, as some species lay eggs in clustsers, others in columns, and others singly. Caterpillar appearance and behavior vary widely. Brushfoots overwinter as larvae or adults.

'[1]

Subfamily Satyrinae

The Satyrinae are medium-sized species of the Family Nymphalidae. Members of this worldwide group are most often brown with one or more marginal eyespots. Males often have visible patches of specialized scales on the fore- or hindwings . Adults have short proboscises and rarely visit flowers, feeding instead on rotting fruit, animal droppings, or sap flows . Nearly all species feed on grasses and grasslike plants , including bamboos , rushes, and sedges. Adults usually perch with their wings closed , but open them wide when basking early in the morning or during cloudy weather. Most species have local colonies and are not migratory. Males patrol when searching for mates, flying in characteristic slow, skipping flight. Eggs are laid singly on the host leaves or stems, and caterpillars feed within shelters of several leaves sewn together with silk . Development from egg to adult can take two years in arctic and alpine species, and it is synchronized in some species. In those species, adult butterflies are only found every other year. Satyrinae typically overwinter as partially grown caterpillars.[2]

Taxonomy

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Similar Species

Members of the genus Morpho

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 11 species and subspecies in this genus:

M. achilles (Achilles Morpho) · M. amathonte (Amathonte Morpho) · M. deidamia (Deidmia Morpho) · M. granadensis (Granada Morpho) · M. helenor (Helen's Morpho) · M. menelaus (Menelaus Morpho) · M. menelaus didius (Didius Morpho) · M. peleides (Blue Morpho) · M. peleides limpida (Blue Morpho) · M. perseus (Perseus Morpho) · M. polyphemus (White Morpho)

More Info

• Search for Pictures: images.google.com
• Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
• Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
• Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books

Further Reading

• A hand-book to the order Lepidoptera. By W.F. Kirby. .. London, E. Lloyd, limited, 1896-1897. url , p. 194, p. 195, p. 196.
• A handbook to the order Lepidoptera. By W. F. Kirby. London, E. Lloyd, limited, 1896-1897. url , p. 194, p. 195, p. 196.
• Annual report / Albany: University of the State of New York, 1902-1918. url p. 72.
• Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, -1965. url p. 438.
• Entomological news. [Philadelphia]American Entomological Society, 1925- url p. 280.
• Insect life, by C. A. Ealand, M. A., with 74 full-page illustrations, 24 being from photographs by the author and 50 in colour from nature. 1921 London, A. & C. Black, ltd., 1921. url p. x.
• Insects. by David Sharp. London: Macmillan, 1909. url p. 349, p. 616.
• Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society. Oxford [etc.]Royal Microscopical Society. url p. 649.
• Marvels of insect life; a popular account of structure and habit. New York: R. M. McBride, 1916. url p. 485.
• Materials for the study of variation: treated with especial regard to discontinuity in the origin of species / by William Bateson. London: Macmillan, 1894. url p. 296, p. 297.
• Museum bulletin / New York State Museum. Albany, N.Y.: University of the State of New York, 1908-1916. url p. 72.
• Nature. London, Macmillan. url p. 182, p. 671, p. 84.
• Precious stones, a popular account of their characters, occurrence and applications, with an introduction to their determination, for mineralogists, lapidaries, jewellers, etc. With an appendix on pearls and coral, London, C. Griffin and Company, Ltd., 1904. url .
• Proceedings and transactions of the South London Entomological & Natural History Society. London: The Society. url p. 33, p. 78.
• The Annals and magazine of natural history; zoology, botany, and geology being a continuation of the Annals combined with Loudon and Charlesworth's Magazine of Natural History. London, Taylor and Francis, Ltd. url p. 172, p. 36.
• The Bulletin of zoological nomenclature. London, International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature. url p. 109.
• The Cambridge natural history, London, Macmillan and Co., Limited;1895-1909 url .
• The Cambridge natural history, ed. by S.F. Harmer. .. and A.E. Shipley. .. London, Macmillan and co., limited;1895-1909 url p. 349.
• The Entomologist. London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co., [1877- url .
• The Lepidopterist. Salem, Mass.: Boston Entomological Club, 1916-. url p. 16.
• The Macrolepidoptera of the world; a systematic description of the hitherto known Macrolepidoptera, ed. in collaboration with well-known specialists. Stuttgart: Seitz'schen (Kernen), 1906- url p. 340, p. 344, p. 346, p. 352, p. 353, p. 551.
• The University of Kansas science bulletin. 39 1958 [Lawrence]: University of Kansas, 1902-1996. url p. 314, figs. 43-57, page 368.
• Timehri. Demerara: "Argosy" url p. 103, p. 321.
• Transactions of the Entomological Society of London. 1877 London, The Society. url p. 114.

Notes

Contributors

• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 9, 2012.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed February 26, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 3 providers.
• LepIndex: The Global Lepidoptera Names Index
• Ruggiero M., Gordon D., Bailly N., Kirk P., Nicolson D. (2011). The Catalogue of Life Taxonomic Classification, Edition 2, Part A. In: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2011 Annual Checklist (Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Ouvrard D., eds). DVD; Species 2000: Reading, UK.
• The Global Lepidoptera Names Index2, 12.2, 2005.

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2957010
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Lep-146151.0
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 631691

Footnotes

1. http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy?f=18&sci=Nymphalidae&com=Brush-footed Butterflies [back]
2. http://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Paramacera&search=Search [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.