About Morpho Butterflies: The genus Morpho is a monophyletic genus composed of approximately 40 species.  All members of this genus are considered neo-tropical with their nearest evolutionary relatives being the Indo-Asian & Indo-Australian Amathusinae.  While most Morpho species are South American and occur in the dense jungles of the Amazonian Basin, a number of species occur in cooler habitats.   Several species prefer fairly high altitudes in the Andes and a few have adapted to semiarid environments of Mexico and the grasslands of southern South America.  According to the records, members of the genus Morpho occur as far north as the southern most portion of Arizona in the southwestern USA and as far south as northern Chile and Argentina.

Butterflies of the Genus Morpho are among the most colorful of all insects and it is perhaps the metallic blue species which have gained the most popularity among collectors, the art industry and most recently, butterfly houses. The word Morpho itself, is an epithet for the goddess of beauty, Aphrodite!

About this Web Site: The goal of this site is to provide a pictorial guide to all butterflies belonging to the Genus Morpho with some information provided for each species as well. We hope that this will be a helpful resource for anyone interested in these fascinating butterflies. We are continually adding to the content of this web site over time. We are always looking for additional information or pictures from our visitors.

We Need Your Help! This site will only be completed with contributions from visitors like you. We need high quality images of any Morpho butterflies not pictured here.  Please save the pictures at a reasonable size, preferably less than 200k send them to us. You will receive proper credit on this site if requested, or may remain anonymous. We also need contributions of information relating to members of the Genus Morpho such as life history notes, behavior, foodplant data, distribution data, and data from collected specimens. If you have a collection of Morpho butterflies but do not have the ability to send us pictures of your specimens, detailed and accurate collection data will be helpful as well. Your comments are welcome regarding any aspect of the web site.

Note on Copyright: Many of the photographs and much of the information on this web site has been donated from private parties to be displayed here. We ask out of respect for the donors that these pictures and the information found here not be duplicated or reproduced in any way other than for personal use. If you would like to use any of the pictures or information from this web site for any other purpose please contact us first to receive permission.

Note to Contributors: If you are interested in contributing to this web site please read the following. We respect your privacy and will not share any personal information unless you request it. If you would like proper credit for any donations listed on this web site we will be happy to do so IF requested.

Note on Scientific Data: Although we have attempted to provide current and accurate scientific data here, the authors of this web site make no claims as to the accuracy or completeness of any nomenclature or other data presented on this web site. Suggestions and comments are welcome.