Flying in the same South American forests as the heliconiids and the ithomiids are the Morpho butterflies (Morphidae). With small bodies and giant wings, they can be seen in the treetops, flashing in the sunlight like wandering daytime stars. Their glistening brilliance turns the rays of the sun into blue sparks, which on one occasion may fioat calmly along and on another may turn into wildly leaping flame.
If two male morphos fly too close to one another, there is a sudden flashing gyration. This contrasts with their behavior at a watering place, where they sit peacefully side by side while drinking. The females, not nearly as blue or not blue at all, show themselves less often. In species that fly near the ground in the shadows of the forest, the blue is limited to the wings and is absent entirely in both sexes of the largest species, whose colors are either absent or dull and metallic. Among the giants, Morpho hecuba, with a wingspan of about 8 inches, is not only one of the largest butterflies, but also one of the grandest of spectacles. The upper surface of the wings is a picture of majestic calm and completeness, and the underside is decorated lavishly with eyespots. Such spots are more or less pronounced in all morphos. But since the spots of Morpho hecuba do not stand out conspicuously from the brown ground color of the lower surface, the butterflies, despite their size, are excellently concealed when at rest among the leaves.
A few of the approximately 50 species of morphos shimmer whitely, like mother-of-pearl. Among these, Morpho sulkowskyi seems to have been given a particularly princely endowment, for in certain light a blinding, bright-blue luster spreads across the surface of its wings. Unfortunately, morpho wings are made by man into all kinds of souvenirs, but a consoling thought is that most of these come from artificially reared specimens. The wild butterflies could hardly be captured in sufficient numbers, and in Brazil they are legally protected.
desenho de Walter Linsenmaier, do livro Insects of the World