Helena morpho Coloring Pages

The Queen of Morpho Butterflies! A Stunning View of Shining Blue!

The Helena morpho is known as the most beautiful of all morpho butterflies, and people even call it the "Queen of Morpho Butterflies". The top side of its wings shines in a breathtakingly vivid, deep blue depending on how the light hits it. This mysterious shine fascinates many insect lovers!

The English name for the Helena morpho is Morpho rhetenor helena. This name comes from "Helen of Troy," a peerlessly beautiful woman from Greek mythology (the Queen of Sparta who caused the Trojan War). The Japanese name Helena morpho also comes from its matchless beauty.

Where Does It Live?

The Helena morpho lives only in specific rainforests in South America.

• Where it lives: It lives in deep, special parts of the Amazon rainforest, mainly in Brazil (especially the Amazon River basin), Peru, and Ecuador.
  • It does not live in the wild in Japan. You can only see it in very few places, so people also call it the "Phantom Butterfly."

What Do Its Body Patterns Look Like?

The wing colors of the Helena morpho are truly amazing, with a broader and deeper blue metallic shine than other morpho butterflies.

• Top side of the wings: Most of it shines in a striking metallic blue, while the edges of the wings and its body are black. This blue part is very wide, and people think they are even more beautiful when there is more blue!
• Underside of the wings: Quite differently, it has a brown and gray base with big and small eye-like patterns. This helps it use camouflage so enemies cannot find it easily when it rests with its wings closed.
• Size: It is a large butterfly. When it spreads its wings, it is about 10 to 15 centimeters wide!

What Does It Eat?

The Helena morpho eats different things as it grows up.

• Caterpillar: It eats the leaves of specific plants.
• Adult butterfly: It does not drink flower nectar. Instead, it gets nutrition mainly by drinking juice from rotten fruit and tree sap. You can see them gathering on fallen fruit on the dim forest floor of the rainforest.

How Long Does It Live?

As an adult butterfly, the Helena morpho lives for about a few weeks to one month.

How to choose colors: Make it shine like the queen of blue!

Coloring the Helena morpho is lots of fun when you use blue shades and give it a shiny metallic look.

• Shining blue: Use dark blue (like ultramarine or cobalt blue) and light blue to color the wings. Try to make the whole wing look smooth and shiny! Keep the line clear between the blue and the black edges to make the blue pop out.
• How to make it shine: Put a little bit of light blue or white over the dark blue. It will look like it is catching the light! Using a light blue marker or a silver colored pencil a little bit works great too.
• Brown underneath: If you color the underside, use brown for the main part. Then, carefully color the dark brown eye spots. Put white or yellow in the middle of the eyes to make them look real!

Coloring tips: Layer your colors to make them deep!

• How to make it look metallic: Color softly and layer your colors many times while changing how dark you press. This makes it look like a real Helena morpho that changes color in the light!
• Make it look 3D: Make the wings darker near the body and lighter near the tips. This makes the wings look 3D!

Tips to enjoy your coloring page!

• Use your imagination!
• You do not have to use real colors. You can use any colors you want for your dream Helena morpho! A rainbow shiny one or a pink morpho would be super fun too!
• Try drawing a background!
• Where do you think the Helena morpho is flying? If you draw a dark rainforest or big green ferns, your picture will look even more exciting!