What color is a Morpho butterfly?

iridescent blue
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.

Why does Morpho butterfly have Colourful feathers?

Structural colour in the Morpho butterfly originates from submicron structure within a scale and, for over a century, its colour and reflectivity have been explained as interference of light due to the multilayer of cuticle and air.

How does the blue morpho butterfly fly?

In fact, Blue Morpho butterflies are reportedly spotted flying through the jungle canopy by pilots from the air. Luckily for visitors to the Amazon, the butterflies spend most of their time on the forest floor, amongst lower shrubs and trees, flying through clearings or warming themselves next to streams.

What gives the Morpho butterfly its magnificent blue?

When light hits these ridges, a phenomena called constructive interference comes into play. The spacing within the ridges,which look like little Christmas trees, perfectly reinforces specific wavelengths while canceling out others. This is why your eyes perceive that shimmering blue.

What colors do butterflies have?

On the other hand, butterflies can show bright blue, green, red, purple or grey/white wings due to structural colors that are created by photonic cells – namely, the chitin in their wings – that reflect certain bands of light in specific ways. Natural pigmentation stays the same whenever or wherever you see it.

Can butterflies see the color of their wings?

Unfortunately for them, butterflies can’t see their own wings. When it comes to their field of vision, they have a completely different visual experience as we do. They might be able to see more colors than we do and perceive types of lights we can’t, but there is a catch.

Why are blue morpho butterflies important?

The Blue Morpho Butterfly is of obvious ecological importance because other Amazonian creatures prey upon it. But this species is also one small component that contributes to the overall biological diversity of the Amazon, and biodiversity is a feature worth protecting in itself.

Are blue morpho butterflies helpful or harmful?

Native Amazon tribes believe that morpho butterflies have great significance. Morpho butterfly egg can change color to protect itself. Blue Morpho butterflies can feed on decomposing animals. Morpho butterflies can help spread fungal spores.

Is a blue butterfly rare?

Blue is the rarest occurring colour in nature, with no true blue pigments in plants. In some ways, blue butterflies are natures way of completing the colour spectrum.

What color butterfly means death?

black butterfly
In some cultures, seeing a black butterfly means death. Whose death it is often is left up to the person witnessing the butterfly’s flight interpretation. It could just as easily mean the death of a job or a relationship. The message of rebirth is often associated with a black butterfly.

What is the rarest color butterfly?

Blue
Blue is the rarest occurring colour in nature, with no true blue pigments in plants. In some ways, blue butterflies are natures way of completing the colour spectrum. From South American wonders to local Tropical icons, here’s some stunning blue butterflies from around the world…

What makes the wings of a morpho butterfly blue?

Keywords: Structural Color, Iridescence, Morpho Butterfly, Interference, Diffraction Abstract. The Morpho butterflies exhibit surprisingly brilliant blue wings originating from the submicron structure created on scales of the wing.

How are the optical properties of Morpho butterflies measured?

The optical properties of the Morpho wing were examined by the following methods: 1) Diffuse reflection and transmission spectra were measured using a Shimadzu UV-240 spectrophotometer equipped with an integrated sphere. The integrated sphere was employed because the reflected and transmitted light from the wing is distributed in a wide

What is the structural color of a butterfly?

From 19th to 20th century, the structural color was a subject of stimulating discussion (LORDRAYLEIGH, 1888, 1918, 1923; MAYER, 1897; MICHELSON, 1911; ONSLOW, 1921; MERRITT, 1925). The color of butterfly wing, covered with scales having many vertical vanes (ridges), was one of the most extensively studied subjects.

Why are the wings of Morpho cypris multicolored?

Anderson and Richards first performed the electron microscopic investigation on the wing of Morpho cypris and found hundreds of vanes possessing linear thickenings 0.2 µm apart on the scale (ANDERSONand RICHARDS, Jr., 1942). They considered that the diffuse and multicolored reflection was due to a variation of their intervals and thickness.