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Blue Morpho caterpillar

Morpho helenor

Photo by Irene Brady
Published on Project Noah
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16.9937, -89.0471

Field Notes

Description:

Tan with yellow and black markings and cinnamon-red tufts, this 1¼" caterpillar has a huge fuzzy tan head. My guess is Morpho helenor due to the range and a comparison of helenor photos to my specimen.

Habitat:

This caterpillar was settled into a patch of sunshine on a cool rock, in a second-growth but still very wild rainforest. The vicinity is hilly, with nearby unexcavated Mayan ruins. Nearby vegetation includes cohune palms, chicle, tamarind, and poisonwood trees.

Notes:

Although I watched this caterpillar for a couple of hours, it didn't move, and since tufted caterpillars tend to have irritating spines, I didn't want to disturb it. I believe this is a Morpho helenor, the common blue morpho. The huge head is because this is probably the 2nd or 3rd instar, because by the 5th instar the head is the same width as the body. Caterpillars get up to 94mm long, more than twice the size of this one.

Reference Links:

Morpho helenor - Wikipedia, Blue morpho - Morpho peleides

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (12)
Irene Brady
Thank you very much, amigos! Interestingly, this was extremely difficult to identify. I searched the internet with all kinds of descriptions for more than two hours, and only found it by accident in Images while searching for another butterfly caterpillar. I am very pleased that you all found it interesting.
Brian38
Congrats Irene for a well deserved SOTW! Great pics and notes of this fascinating caterpillar.
DanielePralong
Congratulations Irene, your Blue Morpho caterpillar has been voted Spotting of the Week! Your photography from all angles for this caterpillar as well as your personalized notes won you the vote. "Photographed in a patch of sunshine in secondary rainforest in Belize, this early instar Blue Morpho caterpillar (Morpho helenor) has been voted Spotting of the Week! Somehow more discreet than the spectacular iridescent blue butterfly it'll eventually turn into, this caterpillar is covered with fine hairs which are tufted in portions and has a relatively large fuzzy head. Later instars have bright lime-green or yellow patches on their back. Beware: the hairs are an irritant to human skin, and when disturbed this caterpillar secretes a unpleasantly smelling fluid from eversible glands on the thorax that acts as a defense mechanism against predators. Feeds on species in the family Fabaceae (Leguminosae)". Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/projectnoah/photos/pb.10150120463815603.-2207520000.1523834641./10160319162395603/?type=3&theater Twitter: https://twitter.com/projectnoah/status/985659082211254272
AshleyT
Your spotting has been nominated for the Spotting of the Week. The winner will be chosen by the Project Noah Rangers based on a combination of factors including: uniqueness of the shot, status of the organism (for example, rare or endangered), quality of the information provided in the habitat and description sections. There is a subjective element, of course; the spotting with the highest number of Ranger votes is chosen. Congratulations on being nominated!
maplemoth662
A very beautiful, and a very colorful caterpillar....four, very beautiful, and a very colorful, Caterpillar photos....

Spotted for Missions

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Butterflies & Moths of the World
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Caterpillars and larvae of the World
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Belizean Biodiversity

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PublishedApril 8, 2018

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