this is the same butterfly with open and closed wings; ------------------------------------------------------------------ The Peleides Blue Morpho, Common Morpho,: or The Emperor (Morpho peleides) is an iridescent tropical butterfly found in Mexico, Central America, northern South America, Paraguay, and Trinidad. Some authorities, believe that peleides is a subspecies of Morpho helenor. The brilliant blue color in the butterfly's wings is caused by the diffraction of the light from millions of tiny scales on its wings. It uses this to frighten away predators, by flashing its wings rapidly. The wingspan of the Blue Morpho butterfly ranges from 7.5?20 cm (3.0?7.9 in). The entire Blue Morpho butterfly lifecycle, from egg to adult is only 115 days. Morpho peleidesMorpho peleides The larvae of Morpho peleides butterflies are occasional cannibals. These caterpillars are red-brown with patches of bright green.