September Is Blue Morpho Butterfly Month!

at the Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center

Enjoy our month-long display of nature at its finest! Each September, marvel at the Blue Morpho as hundreds of these tropical butterflies fill the Day Butterfly Center with their iridescent-blue splendor. Visitors to the Day Butterfly Center will witness the largest display of Blue Morpho Butterflies on the planet during September!

Join us Saturday, Sept. 12 or 19 for the annual Blue Morpho Butterfly Reception (SOLD OUT). For only $35, guests will have exclusive after-hours access to the Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center. Each guest will receive a complimentary glass of red wine or grape juice, which the Blue Morphos are attracted to. As guests stroll through the Butterfly Center enjoying their beverage, they will enjoy up-close and personal experiences with these iridescent blue beauties – the most social butterfly species in the world! 

Circle your calendar in  September 26 and 27^th, 2020 for the Annual Butterfly Festival at Callaway Resort & Gardens, a fun-filled day with Butterflies, games, food, and fun for the entire family!

There’s something a-flutter all month long!  

About the Blue Morpho

The Blue Morpho (Morpho peleides) is a spectacular butterfly native to the rainforests of South and Central America. The undersides of the wings are brown with eyespots, but the contrasting upper sides could be considered the most brilliant, vivid blue that nature has to offer. This iridescent color actually results from microscopic scales on the backs of their wings reflecting light, giving the brilliant shimmering blue appearance. As a Blue Morpho flies, its contrasting wing colors of brilliant blue and dull brown fool the eye and make the Morpho look as if it is appearing and disappearing, paying tribute to its name ‘morpho’ – which actually means “to change or modify.”

Blue Morphos have long courtship rituals and are fiercely territorial – both behaviors that keep the beautiful butterflies constantly swooshing and swirling through the air. And when they do rest, unlike most butterflies that hide in the trees, Morphos usually congregate in large groups around the fruit baskets in the Conservatory, making them very easy to spot and a lot of fun to watch.  

Furthermore, where most butterflies’ emergence from their chrysalides is random and unpredictable, Blue Morphos synchronize their emergence, making it easy to predict. So if you arrive early, between 9am and 10am, you are sure to have the opportunity to watch the last miraculous phase of metamorphosis as new adult butterflies climb from their chrysalids and prepare for their first flight.

Blue Morpho Month gives you the best opportunity to photograph these butterflies, which are normally difficult to capture on photo or video. Optimal time for photos is before 10am and after 3pm, when Morphos are usually resting.