The Achilles Morpho (Morpho achilles), also known as the blue-banded morpho, or banded blue morpho, is a Neotropical butterfly.
The genus name Morpho comes from the Greek epithet of Aphrodite, goddess of love. Achilles was a Greek hero of the Trojan War, the central character of Homer's Iliad.
In the Achilles morpho, the dorsal sides of the forewings are black, with 2 broad vertical bands of brilliant blue. The undersides of the hindwings are olive brownish, with several ocelli formed by blue, yellow, and red concentric rings.
The caterpillars feed on various species of climbing plants (Dalbergia, Inga, Machaerium, Machaerium aculeatum, Myrocarpus, Platymiscium, and Pterocarpus), while the adults mainly feed on rotting fruits or fermenting juice and tree sap.
This species can be found over a huge range of countries, particularly in Argentina, Suriname, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, Paraguay, and Brazil.