It landed for only a few seconds, still fluttering with a wingbeat... The Morpho menelaus, emblematic of the forests of Central and South America, is a butterfly as spectacular as it is difficult to capture, both in flight and in photographs. That day, it paused briefly on a protective net, before taking off again in a dazzling blue glow.

Its upper wings, an iridescent metallic blue, owe their color not to pigments, but to a microscopic structure of the scales, which diffracts light. This phenomenon, called structural coloration, produces reflections that change depending on the viewing angle, making the Morpho almost phosphorescent in daylight.

But this butterfly is not only a jewel in motion: it is also a strategist. When flying, the contrast between the bright blue of the top and the ocellated brown of the underside creates an appearance/disappearance effect with each wingbeat. A visual illusion that disorients predators and enhances its survival.

A fleeting apparition on an unexpected medium, this photographic encounter testifies to the transience of wonder, where nature imposes its rhythm on the observer.