Glassy-winged Sharpshooter vs Trinidad Morpho Butterfly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Glassy-winged Sharpshooter Trinidad Morpho Butterfly
Scientific Name Homalodisca vitripennis Morpho achilles trinidadensis
Order Hemiptera Lepidoptera
Family Cicadellidae Nymphalidae
Size 12-14 mm 95-110 mm wingspan
Habitat Woodlands Forests
Diet Sap Feeders Sap Feeders
Regions Southeastern US, California, introduced to Tahiti and Hawaii Trinidad
Conservation Least Concern Not Evaluated

Glassy-winged Sharpshooter

A large leafhopper that spreads Pierce's disease bacteria devastating to grapevines. It feeds on xylem sap and can process 300 times its body weight in fluid daily.

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Did You Know?

It excretes so much liquid while feeding that it produces a fine rain beneath infested plants.

Trinidad Morpho Butterfly

A subspecies of morpho butterfly found in Trinidad with bright blue iridescent wings. It flies in forest clearings and along rivers.

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Did You Know?

Its blue color is structural, produced by nanoscale ridges on the wing scales rather than pigment.