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Morpho microphthalmus(Morpho microphthalmus)
Phylum —arthropoda
Class —insecta
Order — lepidoptera
Family —nymphalidae
Genus –morpho
Appearance
The younger caterpillars are brown with large bright yellow spots on the back and sides of the body. The caterpillars have tufts of long hairsin the anterior, middle, and posterior parts of the body. The older caterpillars are brown with grey spots.
The wingspan of this butterfly reaches 160 mm. The wings are black with a broad vertical bright blue stripe. There is a row of small white dots along the outer edge of the forewings. The underparts are olive-brown with white, black, yellow and red concentric rings forming large eyespots. The wing margin is edged with rows of white and orange stripes.
Habitat
The butterfly lives in Colombia.
Behavior
Butterflies are most active in the morning. The flight is slow.Often butterflies can be seen on drying puddles from where they drink water with minerals.
The caterpillars have glands in the thorax that emit a strong odor that protects them from predators.
Diet
The caterpillars feed on the leaves of plants from the Legume family.
The butterflies feed on overripe fruit.
Reproduction
For their reproduction you need anaviary with a size of 200 x 200 x 200 cm. Females lay eggs one at a time on the leaves of the forage plant. The eggs are pale green with a narrow reddish ring at the apex.The incubation period is 8-10 days.Forage plants should be replaced every 3-4 days. It is better to keep the caterpillars in terrariums with good ventilation for 6-8 insects.In the terrarium, you need to place a branch of a forage plant.The temperature is 24-26oC and humidity 75-80%. The caterpillars develop for almost 2 months. Pupae are green. The pupal stage lasts for about 2 weeks. The butterfly lives for 2 weeks.
In captivity
The mesh terrarium with a size of 50 × 50 × 70 mm is suitable for keeping butterflies. Room temperature is necessary. Daylight time is 12 hours.
You can feed the butterflies with an overripe banana, orange slices and honey syrup diluted with boiled water in a ratio of 1: 10.
