''Morpho adonis'', the Adonis morpho, is a
Neotropical butterfly. It is found in
Venezuela,
Suriname
Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...
,
French Guiana,
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
,
Ecuador,
Brazil, and
Peru. The wingspan ranges from .
''Morpho adonis'' is a
species group which includes several species.
* ''Morpho adonis'' (Guianas, Cayenne)
* ''
Morpho eugenia
''Morpho Eugenia'' is a 1992 novella by A. S. Byatt first published in complete form with ''The Conjugal Angel'' as ''Angels & Insects''. Named after a butterfly species, it details the key events of the life of a Victorian naturalist, William ...
'' (Guyana)
* ''
Morpho uraneis'' (Brazil)
* ''Morpho marcus'' probably conspecific with ''adonis'' and the correct name.
Habitat
''Morpho adonis'' is found in mid-elevation rain forest at altitudes between about 300–1000 meters above sea level.
Behaviour
In 1913,
Hans Fruhstorfer wrote: "Dr. Hahnel reports its capture at Iquitos and Pebas. There it flies quickly and impetuously (sometimes at an elevation of 12 ft.), dashing out from among the branches, crossing the road and following clearings among the trees, in which they sail along just over the tops or in and out among the branches."
[Fruhstorfer, H., 1913. Family: Morphidae. In A. Seitz (editor), ''Macrolepidoptera of the World'', vol. 5: 333–356. Stuttgart: Alfred Kernen.]
Etymology
The butterfly is named for the mythological
Adonis, the Greek god of beauty and desire.
References
*
Le Moult (E.) &
Réal (P.), 1962–1963. ''Les Morpho d'Amérique du Sud et Centrale'', Editions du cabinet entomologique E. Le Moult, Paris.
*Paul Smart, 1976 ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Butterfly World in Color''. London, Salamander: ''Encyclopedie des papillons''. Lausanne, Elsevier Sequoia (French language edition) page 232 as ''Morpho adonis'', ssp.''huallaga'' Michael, female fig.3 (Peru), ssp.''huallaga'' Michael, male underside fig. 5 (Peru), ssp. ''adonis'', male fig 4 (Guyana).
External links
Butterflies of America''Morpo marcus'' Images of
type
Type may refer to:
Science and technology Computing
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* Data type, collection of values used for computations.
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and other specimens
Butterflies of America''Morpho eugenia'' Images of
Neotype Butterflies of America''Morpho uraneis'' Images of
type
Type may refer to:
Science and technology Computing
* Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc.
* Data type, collection of values used for computations.
* File type
* TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file.
* Ty ...
and other specimens
"''Morpho'' Fabricius, 1807"at Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms''
Photographs.
Morpho
Lepidoptera of French Guiana
Lepidoptera of Brazil
Nymphalidae of South America
Butterflies described in 1775
Taxa named by Pieter Cramer
{{Morphinae-stub