Basic Information on the Blue Morpho Butterfly -Morpho menelaus
The Blue Morpho Butterfly or the Morpho menelaus is a species of neotropical butterfly that iridescent blue wings, but the females are are not as brilliantly colored as the males and have a brown edge with white spots surrounding the iridescent blue area. The undersides are brown with bronze-colored spots. Adults drink the juices of rotting fruits, the caterpillar of the Blue Morpho is red-brown with bright patches of lime-green on the back, and it eats the plant Erythroxylum pilchrum nocturnally. They live in rainforests from Brazil to Venezuela. 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 butterfly helps protect them from being spotted from predators. Blue morphos, like other butterflies, also have two clubbed antennas, two fore wings and two hind wings, six legs and three body segments -- the head, thorax and abdomen.
The Nervous System of the Blue Morpho Butterfly-Morpho menelaus
There is not much complication to the Blue Morpho's nervous system. The tympanal membrane, the hearing membrane, is located at the base of the butterfly's wing and is oval and dome shaped. When sound waves hit the membrane they will be converted to into nerve impulses until they are picked up by nerve cells. Unlike normal butterfly hearing membranes the Blue Morpho is more sensitive to lower pitches. When a low pitch is emitted only one part of the membrane will vibrate, however when higher pitch is used the whole membrane will vibrate. This is most likely used to figure out if a predator is attacking or coming after them. They have two antennae attached at the top of their head. They are sensory organs used to pick up chemicals in the air, they can pick up scents of flowers or even a mate. The antennae also help with balance and detecting motion. The butterfly's eyes are made up of many smaller "eyes" called ommatidia. These smaller "eyes" each have a lens, unlike humans as we have two eyes and have a lens for each. The brain takes the information from these smaller eyes and makes it into a picture. The small eyes are pointed into different directions so they can see forwards, backwards, above and below themselves at the same time. They can also see ultraviolet light. It's six legs help them taste, sensors on each tarsus (leg) pick up chemicals from the surfaces they walk on. This helps them to sense liquids and plants for their caterpillars. The center of a butterfly's nervous system is the subesophageal ganglion and is located in the insect's thorax, not its head. The butterfly has a long chambered heart that runs the length of its body on the upper side. It pumps hemolymph (it lacks the red color of blood) from the rear of the insect forward to bathe its internal organs.