Blue Morpho Butterfly Morpho peleides Kollar

Figure 1.  Captive adult female Morpho peleides Kollar.
The blue morpho butterfly, also known as the peleides blue morpho or common blue morpho, is a brightly colored butterfly abundant in tropical environments in Central and South America. It can be seen flying in open areas such as paths, trails, forest edges, and rivers. In the United States, it is often featured in museums and zoos that have butterfly houses or butterfly rainforests. This five-page fact sheet about the popular butterfly was written by Haleigh A. Ray and Jacqueline Y. Miller and published by the UF Department of Entomology and Nematology, September 2015. (Photo credit: Andrei Sourakov, McGuire Center or Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida)
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1101

Wellsina Mite Hemicheyletia wellsina (De Leon) (Arachnida: Acari: Cheyletidae)

Figure 6. Adult Hemicheyletia wellsina (De Leon) (right) feeding on an adult female of the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae (Koch) (left) by grasping the front leg of the spider mite. Credit: Haleigh RayThis predatory mite was recently discovered in an unsprayed greenhouse at the University of Florida, Gainesville, living on Phalaenopsis and Dendrobium orchids, and assumed to be feeding on orchid pests such as spider mites, tenuipalpid mites, and mealybugs that were present on the orchids. Because there was no published information on this species as a natural enemy of orchid pests, colonies were initiated here to study its biology, maintained on two-spotted spider mite prey. Hemicheyletia wellsina does not appear likely to be an effective natural enemy in agricultural crops as an introduced predator, but could be beneficial in natural biological control in natural ecosystems, where pest densities are lower. This 5-page fact sheet was written by Haleigh A. Ray and Marjorie A. Hoy, and published by the UF Department of Entomology and Nematology, December 2014. (Photo: Haleigh Ray, UF/IFAS)
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1066