Emperor butterfly

From Nookipedia, the Animal Crossing wiki

Artwork of emperor butterfly
Real-world info
Name: Morpho menelaus
Family: Nymphalidae
Main appearances

Other appearances
Names in other languages
 モルフォチョウ
 大蓝闪蝶
 Morpho bleu
 Mariposa celeste
 Farfalla morfo blu
 Морфо менелай
 몰포나비
 大藍閃蝶
 Morpho bleu
 Mariposa celeste
 Himmelsfalter
 Blauwe morpho

The emperor butterfly (known as the emperor prior to New Leaf) is a bug in the Animal Crossing series. It first appeared in Animal Crossing: Wild World and has appeared in all subsequent games. It is the only butterfly that can be found during the night.

In the games that the emperor butterfly appears in, it is a rare bug that the player can encounter, and can be found flying around flowers. In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, it can be caught from summer to the start of fall, and again from winter to the start of spring.

Catch details[edit]

In Wild World[edit]

#6

Emperor butterfly
"I caught an emperor butterfly! It's blue... it's royal!"

Description Their wings are iridescent, like the back of a CD.
Time of year Jul – Sep
Time of day 8 AM – 5 PM
Peak times N/A
Location Flying near flowers
Bug size 115 mm
Selling price  2,500 Bells
Furniture size 1.0 x 1.0


In City Folk[edit]

#6

Emperor butterfly
"I caught an emperor butterfly! Such royal beauty!"

Description Their wings appear to be blue on one side, but quite plain on the other.
Time of year Jun – Sep
Time of day 7 PM – 8 AM
Peak times N/A
Location Flying near flowers
Bug size 115 mm
Rarity Rare
Selling price  2,500 Bells
Furniture size 1.0 x 1.0


In New Leaf[edit]

#6

Emperor butterfly
"I caught an emperor butterfly! Feeling blue, Your Majesty?"

Time of year Jun – Sep
All year (Tortimer Island)
Time of day Mainland:
5 PM – 8 AM
Tortimer Island:
7 PM – 8 AM
Peak times N/A
Location Flying near flowers (can be found on Tortimer Island)
Size 146 mm
Rarity Rare
Selling price  2,500 Bells
Furniture size 1.0 x 1.0


In Pocket Camp[edit]

The emperor butterfly is one of the seven bugs in Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp that has been in the game since its release.

#5

Emperor butterfly

Availability Currently available (since March 26, 2024)
  • 2017-10-25 – 2019-12-27
  • 2020-03-27 – 2020-09-09
  • 2021-03-26 – 2021-08-29
  • 2022-03-24 – 2022-09-19
  • 2023-03-23 – 2023-09-15
Location Sunburst Island PC Map Icon.png Sunburst Island
Size 137.7 mm – 154.2 mm
Rarity ★★★
Selling price  3,000 Bells
Version added 0.9.0
Villager gift data Tier: 3 (Uncommon+)

Rewards:


In New Horizons[edit]

#9

Emperor butterfly
"I caught an emperor butterfly! It's not your average monarch!"

Time of year North: Dec – Mar; Jun – Sep
South: Jun – Sep; Dec – Mar
Time of day 5 PM – 8 AM
Location Flying near flowers
Weather Any except rain
Spawn requirement Catch 20 total bugs
Selling prices  Nook's Cranny 4,000 Bells
 Flick 6,000 Bells
Furniture size 1.0 x 1.0


Donating to the museum[edit]

As with all fish and bugs in the Animal Crossing series, the emperor butterfly can be donated to the museum by talking to Blathers, the curator. When donating, Blathers will say the following upon receiving the Emperor Butterfly:

In Wild World[edit]

"If you wish to keep an emperor butterfly as a specimen, remove the body. If you don't, oils from the expired body will leak out, changing the wing color. Blech, the very thought of those post-mortem oils..."

After donation, the emperor can be found fluttering around the flowers in the first room of the insect exhibit.

In City Folk[edit]

"The emperor butterfly's beautiful blue markings make it a popular gift in certain parts of the world. Hoo, yes, wonderful gift... Such gift givers should have their heads examined, I should think..."

It can be found in the bottom terrace, flying near or resting on the flowers with any other butterflies.

In New Leaf[edit]

The emperor butterfly flying around the player in the museum in Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Upon being donated, the butterfly can be found in the first room of the bug exhibit resting on flowers with the other butterflies. The exhibit has this to say about the emperor butterfly:

"Emperor butterflies are easily recognized because of their lovely, iridescent blue wings. Pigmentation isn't actually what causes the color, but rather the reflections on their wing scales. Since their wings shimmer when moving, noticing them is much easier when they are midflight."

In New Horizons[edit]

When the player donates an emperor butterfly, Blathers will say this about it before thanking the player for the donation:

"The emperor butterfly is called the jewel of the forest. But its vivid blue hue... Eww, let me tell you! The color does not come from a dye, but rather from light reflecting off translucent scales. Yes, butterfly wings are covered in tiny scales! SCALES! Butterflies? Bah! More like snakes of the sky!"

Gallery[edit]

Real-world information[edit]

A real emperor butterfly

Morpho menelaus, more commonly known as the Blue Morpho, is an exotic butterfly that can be found in Central and South America. It feeds primarily on rotten fruit, but in the larval stage, frequently eats other larvae of the same species. The in-game name Emperor Butterfly, while not used to refer to its species, may originate from the species' family, Nymphalidae, which is sometimes known as the Emperors.

Etymology[edit]

Morpho stems from the Greek word for form, and therefore means 'changed'. This may be a reflection of the species' iridescence, which has the quality of changing colors in the light. Menelaus was a legendary king of Sparta who married Helen of Troy.

Names in other languages[edit]

Japanese モルフォチョウ
morufo chou
Morpho butterfly

Korean 몰포나비
molponabi
Morpho butterfly

Simplified Chinese 大蓝闪蝶
dàlán shǎndié
Blue morpho

Traditional Chinese 大藍閃蝶
Unknown

Russian Морфо менелай
Morfo menelay
Menelaus morfo

Dutch Blauwe morpho Blue morpho

German Himmelsfalter Sky Butterfly

European Spanish Mariposa celeste Literally, "Sky blue butterfly"

European French Morpho bleu Blue morpho

Italian Morfo blu
Farfalla morfo blu (NH)
Blue Morpho

Notes[edit]