Morpho richardus

Richard's Morpho
A Morpho plate fromm Seitz. Morpho richardus is the centre butterfly, top row.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Tribe: Morphini
Genus: Morpho
Species: M. richardius
Binomial name
Morpho richardius
Fruhstorfer, 1898

Richard's Morpho (Morpho richardius) is a Neotropical butterfly found only in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Description

richardus Fruhst. (69 a), from Minas Geraes, differs most considerably : male of indefinite greenish, female of yellowish bronze-green colour, both above and beneath deceptively like a small M. hercules Dalm. I have only three examples before me, which were bred from the larva and killed too soon. Forewing with 3 rows of submarginal yellow dots. The patch before the apex of the cell broadly dull gold-yellow, with scattered black scales. Discal area of the forewing yellowish. Distal margin rather narrow, brown-black, base of both wings light green. Under surface: forewing with four small, elongate ocelli of about uniform size, with narrow black irides. Proximally to the ocelli three very large, triangular grey-yellow median spots. Underside of the hindwing predominantly red-brown, with violet sheen. Median band grey-violet. Length of the forewing 58 mm.[1]

Biology

The larva feeds on Abuta selloana.

References

  1. Fruhstorfer, H., 1913. Family: Morphidae. In A. Seitz (editor), Macrolepidoptera of the world, vol. 5: 333–356. Stuttgart: Alfred Kernen.


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