Blue-winged beauty

Not the most photogenic background (i.e. the floor of the ENMAX Conservatory), but that's where this beautiful Blue Morpho butterfly was resting on 9 April 2013. On my last visit to the Calgary Zoo a week later, on 16 April, there were still very few butterflies to be seen, but over the next weeks and months till around September/October, numbers will increase and the tropical plants will grow much larger, and it will once again be a hot, humid, tropical paradise : )

Most of these Blue Morphos at the Calgary Zoo are seen at rest, with wings tightly closed. No matter how many times I see one, I still find the gorgeous blue iridescence of the wings breathtaking.

"The Peleides Blue Morpho (Morpho peleides) is an iridescent tropical butterfly found in Mexico, Central America, northern South America,Paraguay and Trinidad.

The Blue Morpho Butterfly (Morpho peleides) drinks the juices from rotting fruits for food. Its favourites are mango, kiwi, and lychee. Blue Morpho butterflies live in the rainforests of South America, and can be found in Mexico and Central America.The wingspan of the Blue Morpho butterfly ranges from 7.5 cm to 20 cm.The entire Blue Morpho Butterfly lifecycle, from egg to adult is only 115 days. The larvae of Blue Morpho Butterflies are cannibals. The caterpillar Blue Morpho Butterfly is red-brown with patches of bright green. The brilliant blue color in the butterfly's wings is caused by the diffraction of the light from millions of tiny scales on its wings. It uses this to frighten away predators, by flashing its wings rapidly. The Blue Morpho Butterflies stick together in groups to deter their predators, a form of Mobbing behavior." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morpho