(Blue Morpho Butterfly)
Ya'axché Conservation Trust is a community-oriented NGO that couples conservation with sustainable development to advance integrated landscape management in southern Belize. The focal geographic area for Ya'axché's activities, the Maya Golden Landscape (MGL), extends from the Maya Mountains to the Port Honduras Marine Reserve in the Caribbean Sea and forms part of the largest remaining contiguous areas of broadleaf forest in Central America. The MGL includes two important protected areas managed by Ya'axché:
In addition to managing protected areas, Ya'axché puts an equivalent focus on the livelihoods of the surrounding communities. Our guiding principles are the belief that conservation plans should be based on sound science and research and that engagement with local communities through sustainable livelihood initiatives is integral to the protection of resources.
For more information visit: www.yaaxche.org
The shimmering blue colour is not due to pigmentation but is an effect of microscopic scales on the back of the wings, which reflect light
Blue Morpho butterflies' eyes are sensitive to UV light and are able to see each other from great distances
These butterflies do not feed on nectar; instead they drink juice from rotting fruit
Photos Courtesy of: Diana Robinson(1), Green Hills Butterfly Ranch, Belize(2), from left to right
It is among the largest butterflies in the world, with wings spanning from 5 to 8 inches
Tropical rainforests in Latin America from Mexico to Colombia
Dwells mainly on the forest floor and lower shrubs/trees of the rainforest
Rotting fruit juice
Fluttering about from rotting fruit to rotting fruit beneath the canopies
Gentle as a doe, sweet as the fruit juice it drinks, and angelic as the first snowfall of winter
Conservation efforts to reduce rainforest destruction
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