Costa Rica
Morpho peleides limpida - Blue Morpho
Ah, the famous Blue Morpho. If there is one butterfly more associated with the rain forest and Costa Rica it would have to be this one. Unfortunately, while it is the most common species of morpho and found in abundance within the butterfly houses (and in the wild), it is still a difficult butterfly to photograph. They land only briefly and often fold their wings closed - which sort of defeats the intent of capturing that lovely blue.
This poor specimen has seen better days. Raised in captivity with mesh for walls, butterfly house specimens seem to damage themselves fairly quickly. So in addition to chasing them around to take photographs, when you do get one in the frame, it may not be the sort of "pristine" condition you'd ultimately like. But - it sure beats trying to photograph them in the jungle (and I did that too - without much success).
