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 didiusf.incomptaTalbot, 1929 Morpho didius hypanophthalmaNiepelt, 1934 Morpho didiusf.flavolimbataNiepelt, 1934 Morpho didiusf.bipunctataRousseau-Decelle,1935 Morpho didiusf.subrufaRousseau-Decelle, 1935 Morpho didius didiusf.albomarginalisWeber, 1951 Morpho(Grasseia)didius pseudassarpaiLe Moult&Réal,1962 Morpho(Grasseia)didius didiusf.destitutaLe Moult & Réal, 1962 Morpho(Grasseia)didius didiusf.rubiginosaLe Moult & Réal, 1962 Morpho(Grasseia)didius didiusf.decomptaLe Moult & Réal, 1962 Morpho(Grasseia)didius didiusf.decempunctataLe Moult & Réal, 1962 Morpho(Grasseia)didius didiusf.nucleataLe Moult & Réal, 1962 Morpho(Grasseia)didius didiusf.dilutaLe Moultt & Réal, 1962 Morpho(Grasseia)didiusf.limbataLe Moult & Réal, 1962 Morpho(Grasseia)didius didiusf.scopiferaLe Moult & Réal, 1962 Morpho(Grasseia)didius didiusf.atlasLe Moult & Réal, 1962 Morpho(Grasseia)didiusf.caecaLe Moult & Réal, 1962 Morpho(Grasseia)didius didiusf.nanaLe Moult & Réal, 1962 Morpho(Grasseia)occidentalis kruegerif.stygiaLe Moult & Réal, 1962 Morpho(Grasseia)godarti [sic] assarpaif.coelicolorLe Moult & Réal, 1962

Morpho didius,thegiant blue morpho,is aNeotropicalbutterfly belonging to the subfamilyMorphinaeof familyNymphalidae.It is considered, by some authors, to be asubspeciesofMorpho menelaus.

Description

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

Morpho didiushas awingspanreaching 150 millimetres (5.9 in), making it one of the largest ofMorphospecies. The dorsal side of the wings are iridescent and metallic blue, and the forewings are quite elongated.

Distribution

This species can be found inPeru.

Biology

Thelarvafeeds onpalm trees.

References

• BioLib.cz
• "MorphoFabricius, 1807 "at Markku Savela'sLepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
• Butterflies of AmericaImages oftypeand other specimens ofMorpho menelaus didius.
• Better Butterfly Creations
• Paul Smart, 1976The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Butterfly World in Color.London, Salamander:Encyclopedie des papillons.Lausanne, Elsevier Sequoia (French language edition)ISBN9780948427046ISBN0600313816page 235 fig. 7 female (Peru)