Iphimedeia phanodemus is found primarily in the Andes Mountains and towards medium and lower elevations into the upper Amazon Valley. This butterfly has numerous color phases. This specimen from Esmeraldes, Ecuador has a brown caste with very little blue.

The Morpho hecuba group of butterflies (Morpho-Schwartizia) is found widely on the tropical mainland of South America.

When LeMoult and Real studied this group they identified 4 different species.

Morpho hecuba - North of Amazon and east to near Ecuador
Morpho werneri - Near Colombia and Ecuador border.
Morpho cisseis - South of Amazon and east to Ecuador
Morpho phanodemus - Ecuador south to Bolivia

When Patrick Blandin revised this group (Part I, 1988 and Part 3, 2007), he reduced the group to just two species: Morpho hecuba and Morpho cisseis The obvious difference between these two groups of butterflies can be easily seen by studying the ventral side of the rear wing and observing the submarginal spots. In Morpho hecuba the submarginal spots are essentially round. In Morpho cissseis, the spots are extremely elongated, and in some instances appear to lack borders on some of the spots.

In the only two Morpho werneri we have ever seen, as displayed herein, the submarginal ventral rear wing spots are not round, but also not extremely elongated. (This might suggest that Morpho werneri is a obvious link from the evolution of Morpho hecuba into Morpho cisseis. We suspect that Morpho hecuba evolved before Morpho cisseis, as most of the other Morpho groups have round spots.)

We, however, tend to follow Le Moult herein on the question of the status of Morpho werneri.

Morpho hecuba group (Subgenus Iphimedeia, ten species), species and typical ranges, are listed below:

SPECIES - - - LOCATION
M. hercules - Southeast Brazil
M. amphitrion - Peru
M. richardus - East Brazil
M. hecuba - Venezuela and east Brazil
M. werneri - Ecuador and Colombia
M. cisseis - south-central Brazil
M. phanodemus - Peru and Ecuador
M. theseus - Colombia and Ecuador
M. justitiae - Mexico to Colombia
M. telemachus - Obidos, Brazil to Venezuela & Ecuador

Per the Gerardo Lamas list of 2004, the following changes have been made to the taxonomy of this group of Morphos:

Morpho justitiae has become part of the Morpho theseus complex. Morpho oaxacensis and Morpho schweizeri are now subspecies of Morpho theseus and no longer subspecies of Morpho justitiae.

Morpho niepelti and Morpho staudingeri which were part of LeMoults Morpho staudingeri of Colombia has been made a full species named Morpho niepelti.

Morpho phanodemus has become two different subspecies of Morpho cisseis. (Morpho cisseis gahua of Peru, and Morpho cisseis phanodemus of Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.)

Morpho werneri has become the Colombia subspecies of Morpho hecuba.

(Morpho justitiae is found in the tropical lowlands of Central America, and Morpho theseus is found in the higher altitudes of the tropical Andes. With different food plants, different environments, and probably different parasitic wasps and parasitic microbes, these two life forms might be two different species as originally described by LeMoult.)

Morpho butterflies (Family Morphodae to Subfamily Morphiinae) are characterized by their large size and brilliant blue colors. They typically have small bodies and fly with a floating or soaring style. They are found only in the American tropics from Mexico to Southern Brazil.

Because of the brilliant blue colors, large size, and beautiful patterns, many species of these Morphos were used for art work projects from l930 to l990. Cities such as Tingo Maria (Peru), Obidos (Brazil), Santa Catarina (Brazil), and Muzo (Colombia) had networks of collectors that exported large quantities of these beautiful butterflies. Fortunately, the reproductive powers of these species were great, and the collecting seems to have had little impact on the quantity in nature. However, land clearing projects in the natural habitats will impact their populations.

This group's taxonomy is very complicated. For extensive information refer to the Le Moult and Real revision of "Les Morpho D'Amerique Du Sud Et Centrale" published by Le Moult in l962. Prior to this Le Moult revision, there were hundreds of different named forms. Le Moult reduced the species to less than 80 species, and showed that there are some cases of convergent evolution in the family and some surprising mimicry pairs.

LeMoult's work includes 672 images of which 144 are in color. Included in these 672 images are over 600 images of types. (Types are the specimens that were used when the species was first described.)

Le Moult's work has not generally been accepted by the lepidopterists community. This is no doubt partially because it is in French, and partially because the taxonomy is so complicated that many people do not have the patience to unravel the complicated problems. However, the serious butterfly student will be really rewarded when he can understand that Morpho achilles and Morpho helenor are really a mimicry pair and not sibling species.

Morphos are divided into several different subgenera. The subgenus name is used in several instances as opposed to the common term "Morpho."

We have followed the LeMoult organization, as that places similar species near each other. (When working with an alphabetical list, this complicated group gets even more complicated.)

Since 1962 when LeMoult and Real published their revision, there has been considerable additional research. We have noted the changes using the Gerardo Lamas Checklist as published in 2004. These changes are noted in the text for each subgenera. We are impressed with the inclusion in the Lamas check list of over 8 pages of Morpho synonyms with both author and date making this a very important work. Mr. Lamas notes that his personal collection and research from Patrick Blandin and others have helped in his organization.

Then Patrick Blandin published his excellent work on the Morphos. He has color pictures of almost all males, and most of the females.

Additionally, Morpho athena was described in 1966 from RJ, Brazil. Additionally, Morpho absolini has become a full species.

Butterflies and Moths (Order Lepidoptera) are a group of insects with four large wings. They go through various life cycles including eggs, caterpillar (larvae), pupae, and adult. Most butterflies and moths feed as adults, but primarily do most of their growing in the larval or caterpillar stage. Also, most species are restricted to feeding as caterpillars upon a unique set of plants. In this pairing of insects to plants, there arises a unique plant population control system. When one plant species becomes too common, specific pests to that species also become more common and thus prevent the further spreading of that particular plant species.

Although most people think of the Lepidoptera as two different groups: butterflies and moths, technically, the concept is not valid.

Some families, such as Silk Moths (Saturnidae) and Hawk Moths (Sphingidae), are clearly moths. Other families, such as Swallowtail Butterflies (Papilionidae), are clearly butterflies, However, several families exhibit characteristics that appear to be neither moths nor butterflies. For example: the Castnia Moths of South America are frequently placed in the Skipper Family (Hesperidae). The Sunset Moths (Uranidae) have long narrow antennae and fly during the day.

The Saturnidae (Silk Moths) and Papilionidae (Swallowtails) are two Lepidoptera families that have been very carefully researched as to species and subspecies. The current thinking is that if the male genitalia are alike, then the two specimens belong to the same species. As an amateur, your editor disagrees with this premise. If the genitalia are different, then no doubt two species are involved. However, if the genitalia are alike, it only proves that the genitalia are alike.

Consider Papilio multicaudata which is found in southern Canada at higher altitudes. Papilio multicaudata is found south through the Rocky Mountains as far south as Mexico City, and recently as far south as Guatemala. With different food plants, different soil types, different climates, and different seasonal patterns, it is hard to believe that this complex is all one species.

Consider capturing 100 living individuals at any life stage in Guatemala and then carrying them north to southern Canada. Would these individuals survive through several generations. If they would not survive, then this author would conclude that two different species are involved!

In the Saturnidae consider Eacles imperialis subspecies pini. This life form feeds on pines. Is not this sufficient to justify a full species status?

Note: Numerous museums and biologists have loaned specimens to be photographed for this project.



Insects (Class Insecta) are the most successful animals on Earth if success is measured by the number of species or the total number of living organisms. This class contains more than a million species, of which North America has approximately 100,000. (Recent estimates place the number of worldwide species at four to six million.)

Insects have an exoskeleton. The body is divided into three parts. The foremost part, the head, usually bears two antennae. The middle part, the thorax, has six legs and usually four wings. The last part, the abdomen, is used for breathing and reproduction.

Although different taxonomists divide the insects differently, about thirty-five different orders are included in most of the systems.

The following abbreviated list identifies some common orders of the many different orders of insects discussed herein:

Odonata: - Dragon and Damsel Flies
Orthoptera: - Grasshoppers and Mantids
Homoptera: - Cicadas and Misc. Hoppers
Diptera: - Flies and Mosquitoes
Hymenoptera: - Ants, Wasps, and Bees
Lepidoptera: - Butterflies and Moths
Coleoptera: - Beetles


Jointed Legged Animals (Phylum Arthropoda) make up the largest phylum. There are probably more than one million different species of arthropods known to science. It is also the most successful animal phylum in terms of the total number of living organisms.

Butterflies, beetles, grasshoppers, various insects, spiders, and crabs are well-known arthropods.

The phylum is usually broken into the following five main classes:
Arachnida: - Spiders and Scorpions
Crustacea: - Crabs and Crayfish
Chilopoda: - Centipedes
Diplopoda: - Millipedes
Insecta: - Insects

There are several other "rare" classes in the arthropods that should be mentioned. A more formal list is as follows:

Sub Phylum Chelicerata
C. Arachnida: - Spiders and scorpions
C. Pycnogonida: - Sea spiders (500 species)
C. Merostomata: - Mostly fossil species

Sub Phylum Mandibulata
C. Crustacea: - Crabs and crayfish

Myriapod Group
C. Chilopoda: - Centipedes
C. Diplopoda: - Millipedes
C. Pauropoda: - Tiny millipede-like
C. Symphyla: - Garden centipedes

Insect Group
C. Insecta: - Insects

The above list does not include some extinct classes of Arthropods such as the Trilobites.

Animal Kingdom contains numerous organisms that feed on other animals or plants. Included in the animal kingdom are the lower marine invertebrates such as sponges and corals, the jointed legged animals such as insects and spiders, and the backboned animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

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