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Nature

How wide is a common blue morpho?

An adult common blue morpho has a wingspan of about 15 cm (5.91 in).

What is measured: Adult wingspan

Common blue morpho (15 cm) drawn to scale beside a smartphone (14.7 cm) and a bowling pin (38.1 cm)
Drawn to scale, from left to right: Smartphone (14.7 cm), Common blue morpho (15 cm) and Bowling pin (38.1 cm).

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How big is that, really?

  • About the height of a smartphone
  • About 1.8× the length of a credit card
  • As wide as about 6 large coins side by side
  • About 39% of the height of a bowling pin
  • About 21× the length of a grain of rice

Learn

Facts about Common blue morpho

The blue morpho's brilliant blue color comes from microscopic wing scales that reflect light rather than from blue pigment.

Source: Smithsonian's National Zoo — Blue Morpho Butterfly; Encyclopaedia Britannica — morpho

Nature

NameSizeCompared with Common blue morpho
Monarch butterfly9.5 cm (3.74 in)0.63×
Luna moth11.5 cm (4.53 in)0.77×
Venus flytrap15 cm (5.91 in)same size
Pygmy marmoset15 cm (5.91 in)same size
Common blue morpho15 cm (5.91 in)this page
Peacock mantis shrimp18 cm (7.09 in)1.2×
Fennec fox20 cm (7.87 in)1.3×
Axolotl23 cm (9.06 in)1.5×
Atlas moth24 cm (9.45 in)1.6×
Emperor tamarin25 cm (9.84 in)1.7×

Test your sense of scale

Which is bigger: Common blue morpho or Peacock mantis shrimp?

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