Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Blue Morpho

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. There were very few butterflies in April, but over the following months till around September/October, numbers increased and the tropical plants grew much larger, and it once again became 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 Yesterday, the Search function on Flickr was not working properly and this image did not come up when I searched. Hope they fix it very soon, if not fixed by now! As a result, I just discovered after I had uploaded my three photos this morning, that I had already posted this photo ages ago! I think I've only ever accidentally repeated an image once or maybe twice out of all 9, 845 photos, which isn't bad : )

Hey, Phil, this is to give you just a taste of what you'll see tomorrow : )! Enjoy yourself! The butterfly display is now open inside the Calgary Zoo Enmax Conservatory. This beautiful, large Blue Morpho is just one of several species of butterfly flying "freely" indoors. It can be very difficult to catch it resting, LOL. On a window ledge was the best I could do this time: ) "Blue Morphos are Neotropical butterflies found mostly in South America as well as Mexico and Central America ... These colors are not a result of pigmentation but are an example of iridescence: the microscopic scales covering the Morpho's wings reflect incident light repeatedly at successive layers, leading to interference effects that depend on both wavelength and angle of incidence/observance. Thus the colors produced vary with viewing angle ... Morpho butterflies are forest dwellers but will venture into sunny clearings to warm themselves ... The Blue Morphos are reared en masse in commercial breeding programmes. The iridescent wings are used in the manufacture of jewellery and as inlay in woodworking ... Significant quantities of live specimens are exported as pupae from several neotropical countries for exhibition in butterfly houses ... The adults live for about two to three weeks." From Wikipedia. Went on a walk this morning in South Glenmore Park, by the Glenmore Reservoir. There were 500+ Swans on the Reservoir (a mix of Tundra and Trumpeter, plus the rare, solitary Mute Swan which has been hanging out there recently.)

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

Love a challenge? Then try photographing a large Blue Morpho at rest, with its wings open, lol! I was lucky on October 4th, though this butterfly does have some damage to its beautiful wings. Taken in the ENMAX Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo. "As its common name implies, the blue morpho butterfly’s wings are bright blue, edged with black. The blue morpho is among the largest butterflies in the world, with wings spanning from five to eight inches. Their vivid, iridescent blue coloring is a result of the microscopic scales on the backs of their wings, which reflect light. The underside of the morpho’s wings, on the other hand, is a dull brown color with many eyespots, providing camouflage against predators such as birds and insects when its wings are closed. When the blue morpho flies, the contrasting bright blue and dull brown colors flash, making it look like the morpho is appearing and disappearing." www.rainforest-alliance.org/resources.cfm?id=blue_butterfly

I liked the huge leaf that this Blue Morpho landed on - gives a different kind of background from what I usually get. Photographed at the Calgary Zoo on May 2nd.

A beautiful, large Blue Morpho butterfly (Morpho peleides), seen in the ENMAX Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo. "As its common name implies, the blue morpho butterfly’s wings are bright blue, edged with black. The blue morpho is among the largest butterflies in the world, with wings spanning from five to eight inches. Their vivid, iridescent blue coloring is a result of the microscopic scales on the backs of their wings, which reflect light. The underside of the morpho’s wings, on the other hand, is a dull brown color with many eyespots, providing camouflage against predators such as birds and insects when its wings are closed. When the blue morpho flies, the contrasting bright blue and dull brown colors flash, making it look like the morpho is appearing and disappearing." www.rainforest-alliance.org/resources.cfm?id=blue_butterfly

Yesterday, we were lucky enough to have one of these very large butterflies actually land with wings spread, against a pale green backdrop. 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

I believe this is one of the huge, brilliant blue (on upper wings), Tropical Blue Morpho butterflies. Seen in the Butterfly House at the Calgary Zoo. These Morphos rarely land so, much as I would have loved to get the blue surface, I was still happy to capture the beautifully patterned underwing.

When I went into the Butterfly House at the Zoo, it was almost as if I had taken a tiny patch of the blue sky with me. These huge butterflies rarely land, so I snapped quickly when I saw this one on a window ledge. Scientific Name: Morpho peleides Common Name: Common Blue Morpho Native Location: Central and South America

Even though I feel it's cheating a little to photograph in a Butterfly House, I had to wait a long time before this huge, gorgeous blue butterfly landed.