Marisia - Maros Megyei Múzeum Évkönyve 35/2. (2015)
Zoology
scales, phenomenon called structural coloration. Resting on a twig with the wings open makes the butterfly really difficult to be observed. This specie inhabits the tropical forests from the North of Australia, including the Queensland region and northern isles, such as New Guinea, and has the same behaviour as the one of the Morpho group, from South America. It can be observed flying from a long distance because of its shiny blue flashes, resembling flags generated by the movement of the wings [6]. Papilio hornimani has got two continuous blue stripes on the superior side of the wings, along with some scattered blue stains. The inferior side of the wings is brown, with very few lighter areas. It possesses the same ability of camouflage like Papilio ulysses, and its open wings make it really hard to be detected when resting. It flies in the tall rainforests of Eastern Africa, from Tanzania to the south of Kenya [7]. 2. The drawing of the wings helps opposite sex individuals find each other in the tropical forests. The colour of the wings help males attract females for mating. The intense colours of the wings help the butterflies, both the ones who fly in daylight and the ones who usually fly at night, communicate. The colours allow them to distinguish themselves between other species. Lots of species possess sexual dimorphism, males being different from females, because of their shiny colours which help them attract females. In this case, the specie displays “two forms”. The colours also help with the adjustment of temperature. The butterflies from the Morpho group belong to the Neotropic zone, being usually found in South America, but also in Central America, for instance, in Mexico. The blue colour is broadly encountered and is related to the sexual dimorphism (Fig. 7, 8, 9). At some species (for example: Morpho adonis, Morpho eugenia, Morpho aega, Morpho cypris fi Morpho rhetenor), only the males are of an iridescent blue, while females are brown or yellow. At other species (for instance: Morpho anaxihia, Morpho godarti, Morpho didius, Morpho amathonte, §i Morpho deidamia), the females are partially iridescent, but are more blue than the males. Morpho butterflies live in rainforests, from the sea level to 1400 m altitude. These butterflies are diurnal, the males spend their mornings patrolling river courses through the rainforest. They are territorial and would attack any possible rival. They regularly live alone, except for the mating season. The flight of this specie is generally wavering, so that they are easily captured. The Indians form South America used the wings of these butterflies to craft ritual masks. Many butterflies from the Morpho group have metallic colours, with bright blue or green shadows. These colours are not the result of pigmentation, but are an example of iridescence caused by the structural coloration: their microscopic scales which cover the wings reflect the light falling down on the successive layers, generating interference effects, which are dependent to both the wavelength and the angle of incidence. Thus, the colours produced vary according to the viewpoint; however, they are surprisingly uniform, probably because of the diamond-shaped (tetrahedral) arrangement of the scales or because of the diffraction at the covering-cells layers. The wide, blue angle of reflection could be explained by the exploitation of the nanostructures from the scales of a Morpho’s wing. These three optical, active structures integrate three design principles, leading to a wide angle of reflection. The spectrum of reflection is considered to be large, approximately 90 nm, for the alternating layers and can be controlled by the variation of the design model [8]. The ventral part of the wings is decorated, having printed ocelli or coloured, eye-shaped spots. This phenomenon is called “auto mimicry”. The role of the ocelli is to confuse the possible enemies when the butterfly is resting. The message beyond the forms and colours of the tropical butterflies 121
