THE BLUE MORPHO

BUTTERFLY

B Y : A M A N D A W I M M E R

• CHAPTER 1 •

The Blue Morpho Butterfly goes through four stages of metamorphosis. All together these four stages last 115 days.

LIFE CYCLE OF A BLUE MORPHO BUTTERFLY

4. Adult Butterfly

Life Cycle of a Butterfly

2

Stages of Metamorphosis

Stages of Metamorphosis

• CHAPTER 2 •

The butterfly has three main body regions; the head, thorax, abdomen, and the wings.

BUTTERFLY ANATOMY

The Abdomen

The Thorax

Forewings

Hind-wings

The Head

Butterfly Anatomy

• CHAPTER 3 •

Blue Morpho Butterflies typically live in tropical forests of Central America and Mexico. Adult butterflies will stay at the bottom of the forest floor, unless they are looking for a mate. Then, they will fly through all layers of the forest looking for a mate. When they are not looking for a mate, they spend a lot of their time by the river where their bright colors are most visible.

HABITAT OF A BUTTERFLY

• CHAPTER 4 •

The life span of a Blue Morpho Butterfly is 115 days.

LIFE SPAN

• CHAPTER 5 •

Actually, butterflies don’t eat at all, they drink. Butterflies drink the fluids of fruit, sap from trees, fungi, and nutrient rich mud.

WHAT THEY EAT

• CHAPTER 6 •

The butterfly uses its proboscis, or tongue, as a straw and sucks the nectar from the flowers. Butterflies usually go out and eat during the day when the sun is warm enough for them to be active.

HOW AND WHEN THEY EAT

• CHAPTER 7 •

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Lepidoptera

Family: Nymphalidae

Genus: Morpho

Species: Menelaus

CLASSIFICATION

Blue Morpho Butterfly

• CHAPTER 8 •

• The male butterflies have brighter wings compared to female butterflies. The female Blue Morpho Butterfly has dull blue wings, with small white spots and brown edges.

•A butterfly cannot fly if their body temperature is lower than 86 degrees.

• Butterflies use their feet to taste instead of their tongues.

• The only continent that has no butterflies is Antarctica.

• Butterflies skeletons are on the outside of their bodies.

STRANGE FACTS

RESOURCES • http://www.buzzle.com/articles/butterfly-metamorphosis.html• http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/nature/news-seven-stunning-natural-works-art-known-butterflies?image=3• http://mrnussbaum.com/amazon/blue_morpho/• http://www.auduboninstitute.org/animals/butterflies-flight/blue-morpho-butterfly-16376• http://www.thebutterflysite.com/facts.shtml• http://www.roxannereid.co.za/1/post/2011/11/10-weird-and-wacky-facts-about-butterflies.html