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Morpho polyphemus(Morpho polyphemus)
Phylum —arthropoda
Class —insecta
Order — lepidoptera
Family —nymphalidae
Genus –morpho
Appearance
The caterpillars are brown with large green spots on the back. The body is covered with short white hairs. There are red growths on the back.
The wingspan is up to 14 cm. Both the upper and lower wings are bright white, with some small light brown markings. There is a row of small eyespots on the underside of the hindwings.
Habitat
Morpho polyphemusis found in Mexico and Central America.
Behavior
Butterflies are most active from 9a.m. to 2p.m. The flight is slow.Butterflies live alone. Males are territorial. They protect their territory even from white butterflies of other species. Often males can be seen on drying puddles from where they drink water with minerals. Flight is in May-November.
Diet
The caterpillar has been known to eat Paullinia pinnata (family Sapindaceae) and Inga (family Fabaceae).
Butterflies feed on the juice of mature fruits.
Reproduction
For their reproduction you need anaviary with a size of 200 x 200 x 200 cm. Females lay eggs on the leaves of the forage plant.It is better to keep the caterpillars in terrariums with good ventilation for 6-8 insects.In the terrarium, you need to place a branch of a forage plant.Forage plants should be replaced every 3-4 days. The temperature is 24-26oC and humidity 60-70%. The caterpillars develop for about 2 months.Pupae are green. The pupal stage lasts for about 4 weeks. The average life cycle is 137 days. The butterfly lives for about a month.
In captivity
The mesh terrarium with a size of 50 × 50 × 70 mm is suitable for keeping butterflies. Room temperature is necessary. Daylight time is 12 hours.
You can feed the butterflies with an overripe banana, orange slices and honey syrup diluted with boiled water in a ratio of 1: 10.
