- "I caught an emperor butterfly! Feeling blue, Your Majesty?"
The Emperor Butterfly, Morpho menelaus, is a fairly common butterfly found between 7pm and 8am, between the months of June and September. It can be sold for 2,500 Bells. It is the only butterfly to appear at night.
Museum[]
An information board in the bug exhibit will provide information about this bug.
"Emperor butterflies are easily recognized because of their lovely, iridescent blue wings. Pigmentation isn't actually what causes the color, but rather the reflections on their wing scales. Since their wings shimmer when moving, noticing them is much easier when they are midflight."
In real life[]
Morpho menelaus, more commonly known as the Blue Morpho, is an exotic butterfly that can be found in Central and South America. It feeds primarily on rotten fruit, but in the larval stage, frequently eats other larvae of the same species.
A related species, the Peleides Blue Morpho, is a common attraction in Butterfly Houses around the world.
Morpho stems from the Greek word for form, which means "changed". This may be a reflection of the species' beautiful cerulean iridescence, which has the quality of changing colors in the light, and is not actually true pigment.
The butterfly has two set of wings, the primary and secondary. There are four wings in total.