BIG MONEY RIDING ON THIS ONE!
Hi Bugman,
My neighbor and I have 1000c ($2) riding on the answer to what this is. He says it’s a morpho. I say it’s not. I have lots of morphos on my property. Some are solid blue on top and some are blue with a thin black edging.. Both are bigger than the one pictured and they have a different pattern on the underside of the wing. They have the big owl spots and a darker brown pattern. These butterflies seem to enjoy the mangos. They are medium sized and very striking, but I’m betting they aren’t a morpho. Thanks for your help.
Jori
Costa Rica
Hi Jori,
We have been scouring the internet for an hour trying to get you a definitive answer. Here is what we do know. The butterfly is in the family Nymphalidae, the same family as the Morphos. We believe it is in the subfamily Morphinae, the Morphos, or Brassolinae, the Owl Butterflies. The markings and coloration are consistant with the markings and coloration of a Morpho. Morphos take sustenance from fruit like your specimen. We found a website with listings of the Morphos and Owls of Monteverde, and the four species in the genus Morpho DO NOT match your specimen. There is another genus listed in the subfamily Morphinae. It is Antirrhea, but it has proven difficult to find images of these two representatives. While searching we found an impressive Asian website with no matching Morphos or Owls. Our conclusion is that your butterfly is Morpho-esque, but we really need assistance with its correct identification.
Correction: (07/02/2008) Butterfly from Costa Rica: Morpho or Not???
Re: Butterfly from Costa Rica: Morpho or Not??? (07/01/2008) BIG MONEY RIDING ON THIS ONE!
Hello Bugman:
I believe the butterfly in question is a leafwing (Charaxinae), probably a White-spotted Prepona (Archaeoprepona amphimachus). There are numerous online images e.g.: http://butterfliesofamerica.com/archaeoprepona_amphimachus_amphiktion.htm and http://neotropicalbutterflies.com/Site%20Revision/Pages/Nymphalidae_Pages/Charaxinae/Charaxinae_Pages/Archaeoprepona_amphimachus.html Regards,
Karl