Introduction

The tribe Heliconiini, colloquially known as Longwings, includes 71 species, all confined exclusively to the neotropics. The Heliconiini includes the genera Heliconius, Podotricha, Dryas, Agraulis, Dione, Dryadula, Eueides, Neruda, Laparus and Philaethria.

The 39 Heliconius species are much studied by geneticists and taxonomists. Many of them produce a staggering variety of colour forms – Heliconius erato e.g. produces no less than 29 geographical forms, each of which corresponds almost exactly in colour and pattern to a “sister” subspecies of Heliconius melpomene flying in the same area.

All Heliconius species have elongated black wings, marked with simple but striking patterns usually featuring streaks or patches of red and cream, or blue and cream. A few, such as sara, antiochus and wallacei have a metallic blue sheen over the basal area of both wings. All are characterised by their delicate fluttering flight, long straight antennae, and fondness for flowers.

Heliconius wallacei can easily be confused with sara. In the latter there is a series of red spots near the base of the underside hindwing, whereas in wallacei these are replaced by a red streak running along the base of the costa, and another running along the base of the dorsum.

Heliconius wallacei is found from Venezuela and Trinidad to southern Brazil and Peru.

Heliconius wallacei, Rio Shima, Satipo, Peru – Adrian Hoskins

Habitats

The butterfly is a lowland rainforest species, found at altitudes below about 800m.

Lifecycle

The eggs are laid singly on the leaf buds of Passiflora. I have no other information available.

Adult behaviour

Heliconius butterflies are characterised by having a very delicate fluttering flight, particularly when hovering around flowers. They commonly nectar at Hamelia, Lantana and Palicourea.

Unlike other butterflies, Heliconius females feed on pollen as well as nectar. Studies of ethilla have shown that females deprived of pollen can only produce about 15% of the number of eggs laid by females that have access to it. This probably applies equally to other Heliconius species including melpomene. The pollen from Psiguria, Anguria and Gurania flowers provides amino acids that can’t be obtained from nectar or other sources, and contributes greatly to the longevity of the butterflies – some Heliconius species are known to live for up to 9 months as adults.

Studies have shown that Heliconius butterflies have home ranges within which they can memorise the locations of nectar and pollen sources, host plants and communal roosting sites. They are able to plan the most efficient route by which to visit all nectar / pollen sources in the vicinity by using simple calculations akin to what mathematicians call the “travelling salesman algorithm”. Erlich & Gilbert demonstrated that individual butterflies memorise the location of particular Psiguria plants, which they visit daily, following a predefined circuit through the forest.

In the genus Heliconius most species rely entirely on airborne chemicals to locate mates. Males of hecale, ismenius and cydno are attracted by pheromones to the pupae of conspecific females. The day before emergence a female pupa will usually have several males in close attendance. A frantic battle takes place the instant she hatches, as the males all struggle to copulate with her, not even allowing her time to expand and dry her wings. In some other Heliconius species such as hecalesia, hewitsoni, erato, charithonia and sara the males don’t even wait until the female emerges. Instead they physically break open her pupa and copulate as soon as her genitalia are accessible.

Introduction

The tribe Heliconiini, colloquially known as Longwings, includes 71 species, all confined exclusively to the neotropics. The Heliconiini includes the genera Heliconius, Podotricha, Dryas, Agraulis, Dione, Dryadula, Eueides, Neruda, Laparus and Philaethria.

The 39 Heliconius species are much studied by geneticists and taxonomists. Many of them produce a staggering variety of colour forms – Heliconius erato e.g. produces no less than 29 geographical forms, each of which corresponds almost exactly in colour and pattern to a ‘sister’ subspecies of Heliconius melpomene flying in the same area.

All Heliconius species have elongated black wings, marked with simple but striking patterns usually featuring streaks or patches of red and cream, or blue and cream. A few, such as sara, antiochus and wallacei have a metallic blue sheen over the basal area of both wings. All are characterised by their delicate fluttering flight, long straight antennae, and fondness for flowers.

Heliconius charithonia is distributed from the southern USA and Mexico to Ecuador, and also occurs on the Caribbean islands of Trinidad, Cuba, Haiti, Antigua, Jamaica and the southern USA.

Heliconius charithonia Medellin, Colombia – Adrian Hoskins

Habitats

This species is found in sub-tropical rainforest, forest edge habitats, hammocks, pastures, and along roadsides at elevations between sea level and about 1700m.

Lifecycle

The eggs are laid either singly or loose groups of up to a dozen on leaf buds or leaves of Passiflora or Tetrastylis ( Passifloraceae ). The caterpillar when fully grown is white, marked with black spots. Each body segment bears 6 long black barbed spines, and there is another pair of similar spines on the head. The chrysalis looks like a dead twisted leaf. It is ochreous-brown, and possesses a pair of long and twisted head horns, several curved dorsal spines, and a series of tiny hook-like spines along the costa of the wing cases. It is suspended by the cremaster from a stem or leaf.

Adult behaviour

Heliconius butterflies are characterised by having a very delicate fluttering flight, particularly when hovering around flowers. They commonly nectar at Hamelia, Lantana and Stachytarpheta.

Unlike other butterflies, Heliconius females feed on pollen as well as nectar. Studies of ethilla have shown that females deprived of pollen can only produce about 15% of the number of eggs laid by females that have access to it. This probably applies equally to other Heliconius species including melpomene. The pollen from Psiguria, Anguria and Gurania flowers provides amino acids that can’t be obtained from nectar or other sources, and contributes greatly to the longevity of the butterflies – some Heliconius species are known to live for up to 9 months as adults.

Heliconius charithonia with pollen basket adhering to proboscis, Colombia – Adrian Hoskins

Studies have shown that Heliconius butterflies have home ranges within which they can memorise the locations of nectar and pollen sources, host plants and communal roosting sites. They are able to plan the most efficient route by which to visit all nectar / pollen sources in the vicinity by using simple calculations akin to what mathematicians call the ‘travelling salesman algorithm’. Erlich & Gilbert demonstrated that individual butterflies memorise the location of particular Psiguria plants, which they visit daily, following a predefined circuit through the forest.

In the genus Heliconius most species rely entirely on airborne chemicals to locate mates. Males of hecale, ismenius and cydno are attracted by pheromones to the pupae of conspecific females. The day before emergence a female pupa will usually have several males in close attendance. A frantic battle takes place the instant she hatches, as the males all struggle to copulate with her, not even allowing her time to expand and dry her wings. In some other Heliconius species such as hecalesia, hewitsoni, erato, charithonia and sara the males don’t even wait until the female emerges. Instead they physically break open her pupa and copulate as soon as her genitalia are accessible.

Heliconius charithonia adults gather in the late afternoon to roost communally in groups of up to a 30 on twigs or tendrils, at a height of about 1-2m above ground level.

Introduction

There are 7 species in the genus Philaethria, which some workers consider to be the most primitive of the Heliconiine genera. Two species – constantinoi from Colombia and andrei from Guyana, were discovered in 1991 and 2002 respectively. A third species pygmalion is found in the Brazilian state of Para, near the mouth of the Amazon. South-east Brazil holds another species werneckei, while diatonica and ostara are found in Honduras and Colombia respectively.

Philaethria dido is among the most beautiful and graceful of neotropical butterflies. It is regarded as being fairly common throughout most of its range but is rarely seen as it spends most of its life high in the forest canopy.

Less experienced lepidopterists often confuse Philaethria dido with the Malachite Siproeta stelenes – a very common Nymphalid found in open secondary forest and around the edges of forest clearings. The wing shape of the two genera are completely different however.

Philaethria dido is found from Mexico to the southern Amazon.

Philaethria dido, males, Rio Madre de Dios, Peru – Adrian Hoskins

Habitats

This species breeds in wet tropical rainforests at altitudes from 0-1200m, but appears to be absent at higher altitudes and from deciduous forests.

Lifecycle

The eggs are laid singly on the underside of the leaves of low growing Passiflora plants. The larva is pale green with reddish spines along the back and sides. The pupa resembles a bird dropping. It is pale brown, mottled with grey and covered with tiny warts.

Philaethria dido, Satipo, Peru – Adrian Hoskins

Adult behaviour

As with most butterfly species, the behaviour of males and females differs greatly. The females are seen more frequently, flitting and gliding at a height of about 4 metres, and occasionally descending to examine low growing Passiflora plants at light gaps in the forest.

Males are more elusive but occasionally descend from the canopy to imbibe mineral-rich moisture from river beaches or from places where streams ford forest roads. At these times they are quite approachable, but flutter constantly as they move about probing the ground for nutrients. They are only active in hot sunny conditions and quickly return to the canopy if cloud obscures the sun. The flight is rapid but very agile.

Both sexes nectar at Cissus and other flowers in the canopy.

Philaethria dido, male, Rio Madre de Dios, Peru – Adrian Hoskins

Introduction

The tribe Heliconiini, colloquially known as Longwings, includes 71 species, all confined exclusively to the neotropics. The Heliconiini includes the genera Heliconius, Podotricha, Dryas, Agraulis, Dione, Dryadula, Eueides, Neruda, Laparus and Philaethria.

This species is placed in the genus Heliconius by most authorities, but Lamas places it in Laparus.

Heliconius doris exists as 4 named subspecies. In most of these the ground colour is black, and the pattern of cream on the forewings is constant. The exception is obscurus from Colombia in which the forewings are often entirely black. The patch of colour radiating from the base of the hindwings is green in obscurus, but in dives, viridis and doris it can be either blue, red, pink or dark cream.

Heliconius doris is a common and widespread species, found from Mexico to Bolivia.

Heliconius doris dives, Rio Claro, Colombia – Adrian Hoskins

Habitats

The butterfly occurs commonly at elevations between 0-1700m. It is usually seen singly or in two’s and three’s, fluttering around flowering bushes in sunlit areas at the forest edge.

Lifecycle

The eggs are yellow, and laid in clusters of up to 200. When fully grown the caterpillar is greenish-yellow with transverse black bands across the back, and branched black spines along the back and sides. The larvae feed gregariously on Passiflora. The pupa is reddish-brown and devoid of spines. Pupation sometimes takes place gregariously on tree trunks.

Heliconius doris obscurus, Medellin, Colombia – Adrian Hoskins

Adult behaviour

Like other Heliconiines, doris has a very graceful and persistent flight, beating its wings very slowly as it flutters in search of flowers or larval foodplants.

Males often settle close to streams in dappled sunlight, to imbibe mineralised moisture from rocks, mud or sand. Both sexes fly in open sunlight and visit Lantana flowers for nectar. Females also visit Psiguria and Psychotia flowers for pollen. They process the pollen to extract proteins which enable them to continue producing eggs over a long period. The proteins also increase longevity – adults can live for up to 9 months, much longer than other rainforest species.

Heliconius doris, male, Catarata Bayoz, Le Merced, Peru – Adrian Hoskins

Introduction

The tribe Heliconiini, colloquially known as Longwings, includes 71 species, all confined exclusively to the neotropics. The Heliconiini includes the genera Heliconius, Podotricha, Dryas, Agraulis, Dione, Dryadula, Eueides, Neruda, Laparus and Philaethria.

The 39 Heliconius species are much studied by geneticists and taxonomists. Many of them produce a staggering variety of colour forms – Heliconius erato e.g. produces no less than 29 geographical forms, each of which corresponds almost exactly in colour and pattern to a “sister” subspecies of Heliconius melpomene flying in the same area.

All Heliconius species have elongated black wings, marked with simple but striking patterns usually featuring streaks or patches of red and cream, or blue and cream. A few, such as sara, antiochus and cydno have a metallic blue sheen over the basal area of both wings. All are characterised by their delicate fluttering flight, long straight antennae, and fondness for flowers.

There are 13 subspecies of cydno – distributed variously from Mexico to Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador. In some subspecies such as weymeri and zelinde from Colombia the normally broad white band on the forewing is reduced in size or sometimes split into 2 distinct narrow bands resembling those of wallacei and sara. In hermogenes, also from Colombia, the band is broken up into a series of widely scattered small white spots. Most of the other races have a single broad white band as in galanthus, but have varying amounts of white on the hindwings.

Heliconius cydno cydnides, Medellin, Colombia – Adrian Hoskins

Habitats

The butterfly is found in forested areas at altitudes between sea level and about 2000m.

Lifecycle

To be completed.

Adult behaviour

Heliconius butterflies are characterised by having a very delicate fluttering flight, particularly when hovering around flowers. They commonly nectar at Hamelia, Lantana and Palicourea.

Unlike other butterflies, Heliconius females feed on pollen as well as nectar. Studies of ethilla have shown that females deprived of pollen can only produce about 15% of the number of eggs laid by females that have access to it. This probably applies equally to other Heliconius species including melpomene. The pollen from Psiguria, Anguria and Gurania flowers provides amino acids that can’t be obtained from nectar or other sources, and contributes greatly to the longevity of the butterflies – some Heliconius species are known to live for up to 9 months as adults.

Studies have shown that Heliconius butterflies have home ranges within which they can memorise the locations of nectar and pollen sources, host plants and communal roosting sites. They are able to plan the most efficient route by which to visit all nectar / pollen sources in the vicinity by using simple calculations akin to what mathematicians call the “travelling salesman algorithm”. Erlich & Gilbert demonstrated that individual butterflies memorise the location of particular Psiguria plants, which they visit daily, following a predefined circuit through the forest.

In the genus Heliconius most species rely entirely on airborne chemicals to locate mates. Males of hecale, ismenius and cydno are attracted by pheromones to the pupae of conspecific females. The day before emergence a female pupa will usually have several males in close attendance. A frantic battle takes place the instant she hatches, as the males all struggle to copulate with her, not even allowing her time to expand and dry her wings. In some other Heliconius species such as hecalesia, hewitsoni, erato, charithonia and sara the males don’t even wait until the female emerges. Instead they physically break open her pupa and copulate as soon as her genitalia are accessible.

Heliconius cydno cydnides, Medellin, Colombia – Adrian Hoskins

Introduction

The tribe Heliconiini, colloquially known as Longwings, includes 71 species, all confined exclusively to the neotropics. The Heliconiini includes the genera Heliconius, Podotricha, Dryas, Agraulis, Dione, Dryadula, Eueides, Neruda, Laparus and Philaethria.

All Heliconius species have elongated black wings, marked with simple but striking patterns usually featuring streaks or patches of red and cream, or blue and cream. They are characterised by their delicate fluttering flight, long straight antennae, and fondness for flowers.

The 39 Heliconius species are much studied by geneticists and taxonomists. Many of them produce a staggering variety of colour forms, e.g. Heliconius erato produces 29 different subspecies, each of which corresponds almost exactly in colour and pattern to a ‘sister’ subspecies of melpomene flying in the same area. Heliconius hecale also produces numerous subspecies, but instead of mimicking other Heliconius species, they each mimic a particular species of ‘tiger complex’ Ithomiine.

Heliconius xanthocles forms 16 subspecies found variously in Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. The basic pattern and colour scheme is similar for each subspecies, but they differ in the size and shape of the cream markings on the forewings, and in the extent of the orange/red patterning.

The illustrated subspecies simulatus inhabits the Amazonian lowlands of s.w. Brazil and Peru.

Habitats

Heliconius xanthocles occurs in lowland rainforest at elevations between sea level and about 600m.

Lifecycle

To be completed.

Adult behaviour

Heliconius butterflies are characterised by having a very delicate fluttering flight, particularly when hovering around flowers. They commonly nectar at Hamelia, Lantana and Palicourea.

Unlike other butterflies, Heliconius females feed on pollen as well as nectar. Studies of ethilla have shown that females deprived of pollen can only produce about 15% of the number of eggs laid by females that have access to it. This probably applies equally to other Heliconius species including xanthocles. The pollen from Psiguria, Psychotria, Anguria and Gurania flowers provides amino acids which can’t be obtained from nectar or other sources, and contributes greatly to the longevity of the butterflies – some Heliconius species are known to live for up to 9 months as adults.

Studies have shown that Heliconius butterflies have home ranges within which they can memorise the locations of nectar and pollen sources, host plants and communal roosting sites. They are able to plan the most efficient route by which to visit all nectar / pollen sources in the vicinity by using simple calculations akin to what mathematicians call the “travelling salesman algorithm”. Erlich & Gilbert demonstrated that individual butterflies memorise the location of particular Psiguria plants, which they visit daily, following a predefined circuit through the forest.

In the genus Heliconius most species rely entirely on airborne chemicals to locate mates. Males of hecale, ismenius and cydno are attracted by pheromones to the pupae of conspecific females. The day before emergence a female pupa will usually have several males in close attendance. A frantic battle takes place the instant she hatches, as the males all struggle to copulate with her, not even allowing her time to expand and dry her wings. In some other Heliconius species such as hecalesia, hewitsoni, erato, charithonia and sara the males don’t even wait until the female emerges. Instead they physically break open her pupa and copulate as soon as her genitalia are accessible.

Introduction

The tribe Heliconiini, colloquially known as Longwings, includes 71 species, all confined exclusively to the neotropics. The Heliconiini includes the genera Heliconius, Podotricha, Dryas, Agraulis, Dione, Dryadula, Eueides, Neruda, Laparus and Philaethria.

The 39 Heliconius species are much studied by geneticists and taxonomists. Many of them produce a staggering variety of colour forms – Heliconius erato e.g. produces no less than 29 geographical forms, each of which corresponds almost exactly in colour and pattern to a “sister” subspecies of Heliconius melpomene flying in the same area.

All Heliconius species have long black wings bearing simple but striking patterns, typically featuring streaks or patches of red and cream, or blue and cream. Several including hecale have subspecies which mimic ‘tiger complex’ orange and black Ithomiines. Heliconius hecale zuleika for example is a mimic of the Cream-spotted Tigerwing Tithorea tarricina, while another subspecies zeus mimics its congener Tithorea harmonia. Likewise ithaca is a near-perfect mimic of another Ithomiine Melinaea marsaeus. In fact every one of the 29 hecale subspecies mimics an Ithomiine species that inhabits the same area. The Ithomiines in all cases are toxic or unpalatable to birds. Studies have provided strong evidence that birds which eat the Ithomiines suffer from nausea and vomiting. Consequently they avoid eating similarly coloured butterflies, whether they be other toxic Ithomiines, or palatable mimics such as Heliconius hecale.

Heliconius hecale is distributed from Mexico to Bolivia. The illustrated subspecies zuleika is found in Central America, from Mexico to Panama.

Habitats

The butterfly is found in forested areas at altitudes between sea level and about 1400m.

Lifecycle

To be completed.

Adult behaviour

Heliconius butterflies are characterised by having a very delicate fluttering flight, particularly when hovering around flowers. They commonly nectar at Hamelia, Lantana and Palicourea.

Unlike other butterflies, Heliconius females feed on pollen as well as nectar. Studies of ethilla have shown that females deprived of pollen can only produce about 15% of the number of eggs laid by females that have access to it. This probably applies equally to other Heliconius species including melpomene. The pollen from Psiguria, Anguria and Gurania flowers provides amino acids that can’t be obtained from nectar or other sources, and contributes greatly to the longevity of the butterflies – some Heliconius species are known to live for up to 9 months as adults.

Studies have shown that Heliconius butterflies have home ranges within which they can memorise the locations of nectar and pollen sources, host plants and communal roosting sites. They are able to plan the most efficient route by which to visit all nectar / pollen sources in the vicinity by using simple calculations akin to what mathematicians call the “travelling salesman algorithm”. Erlich & Gilbert demonstrated that individual butterflies memorise the location of particular Psiguria plants, which they visit daily, following a predefined circuit through the forest.

In the genus Heliconius most species rely entirely on airborne chemicals to locate mates. Males of hecale, ismenius and cydno are attracted by pheromones to the pupae of conspecific females. The day before emergence a female pupa will usually have several males in close attendance. A frantic battle takes place the instant she hatches, as the males all struggle to copulate with her, not even allowing her time to expand and dry her wings. In some other Heliconius species such as hecalesia, hewitsoni, erato, charithonia and sara the males don’t even wait until the female emerges. Instead they physically break open her pupa and copulate as soon as her genitalia are accessible.

Introduction

The tribe Heliconiini, colloquially known as Longwings, includes 71 species, all confined exclusively to the neotropics. The Heliconiini includes the genera Heliconius, Podotricha, Dryas, Agraulis, Dione, Dryadula, Eueides, Neruda, Laparus and Philaethria.

The 39 Heliconius species are much studied by geneticists and taxonomists. Many of them produce a staggering variety of colour forms – Heliconius erato e.g. produces no less than 29 geographical forms, each of which corresponds almost exactly in colour and pattern to a “sister” subspecies of Heliconius melpomene flying in the same area.

All Heliconius species have elongated black wings, marked with simple but striking patterns usually featuring streaks or patches of red and cream, or blue and cream. A few, such as sara, antiochus and wallacei have a metallic blue sheen over the basal area of both wings. All are characterised by their delicate fluttering flight, long straight antennae, and fondness for flowers.

Heliconius numata is a member of the tiger complex – a group of 200+ butterfly and moth species from various families which all have a common pattern of orange stripes on a black ground colour. The majority of these species e.g. Tithorea harmonia, Melinaea marsaeus and Lycorea pasinuntia, are unpalatable to birds and other vertebrate predators. Birds have excellent short term memory, so any bird which suffers the unpleasant experience of tasting one member of the complex soon learns to avoid attacking any similar looking species, including palatable butterflies such as Eresia eunice, Perrhybris pamela, Pterourus zagreus, Consul fabius etc.

Heliconius numata is a widespread species, found from Panama to Bolivia.

Habitats

The butterfly occurs commonly at elevations between 0-1000m. It is usually seen singly, fluttering along trails in primary rainforest, but also occurs in more open secondary forest.

Lifecycle

The larval foodplant is Passiflora.

Adult behaviour

Heliconius butterflies are characterised by having a very delicate fluttering flight, particularly when hovering around flowers. They commonly nectar at Hamelia, Lantana and Palicourea.

Unlike other butterflies, Heliconius females feed on pollen as well as nectar. Studies of ethilla have shown that females deprived of pollen can only produce about 15% of the number of eggs laid by females that have access to it. This probably applies equally to other Heliconius species including melpomene. The pollen from Psiguria, Anguria and Gurania flowers provides amino acids that can’t be obtained from nectar or other sources, and contributes greatly to the longevity of the butterflies – some Heliconius species are known to live for up to 9 months as adults.

Studies have shown that Heliconius butterflies have home ranges within which they can memorise the locations of nectar and pollen sources, host plants and communal roosting sites. They are able to plan the most efficient route by which to visit all nectar / pollen sources in the vicinity by using simple calculations akin to what mathematicians call the “travelling salesman algorithm”. Erlich & Gilbert demonstrated that individual butterflies memorise the location of particular Psiguria plants, which they visit daily, following a predefined circuit through the forest.

In the genus Heliconius most species rely entirely on airborne chemicals to locate mates. Males of hecale, ismenius and cydno are attracted by pheromones to the pupae of conspecific females. The day before emergence a female pupa will usually have several males in close attendance. A frantic battle takes place the instant she hatches, as the males all struggle to copulate with her, not even allowing her time to expand and dry her wings. In some other Heliconius species such as hecalesia, hewitsoni, erato, charithonia and sara the males don’t even wait until the female emerges. Instead they physically break open her pupa and copulate as soon as her genitalia are accessible.

Introduction

The tribe Heliconiini, colloquially known as Longwings, includes 71 species, all confined exclusively to the neotropics. The Heliconiini includes the genera Heliconius, Podotricha, Dryas, Agraulis, Dione, Dryadula, Eueides, Neruda, Laparus and Philaethria.

All Heliconius species have elongated black wings, marked with simple but striking patterns usually featuring streaks or patches of red and cream, or blue and cream. A few, such as sara, antiochus and wallacei have a metallic blue sheen over the basal area of both wings. All are characterised by their delicate fluttering flight, long straight antennae, and fondness for flowers.

The 39 Heliconius species are much studied by geneticists and taxonomists. Many of them produce a staggering variety of colour forms – Heliconius erato e.g. produces no less than 29 geographical forms, each of which corresponds almost exactly in colour and pattern to a ‘sister’ subspecies of Heliconius melpomene flying in the same area.

Heliconius erato microclea, Satipo, Peru – Adrian Hoskins

There are often striking differences between the different forms of each species, as can be seen in the illustrations here. In some subspecies of erato the cream patch on the forewing is reduced to a group of dashes in the shape of a claw. In others it is replaced by a pair of large orange patches or may even be entirely absent. The basal area of the forewings is usually red, but may be unmarked in some races. The hindwing markings may be red, orange or cream, either in the form of radiating lines, or as a solid median band. Perhaps the most dramatic variety is cyrbia, which has a lurid pink band across the forewings, white submarginal rays on the hindwings, and a beautiful metallic blue sheen across the entire wing surface.

Heliconius erato is probably the commonest and most widespread Heliconiine. It’s 29 subspecies are distributed across the neotropical region from Mexico to Brazil, Bolivia and Argentina. The illustrated subspecies luscombei is confined to the Amazonian lowlands of south-eastern Peru, while microclea is restricted to mid-elevation sites in central Peru, and petiverana is Central American.

Heliconius erato petiverana, Costa Rica – Maris Pukitis

Habitats

This species occurs commonly at elevations between 0-1800m on both sides of the Andes. It can be seen flying in two’s or three’s around clearings, and along roads and tracks through primary forest. It is commoner however in secondary forest, and can be found flying in coffee plantations, gardens, orchards and along roadsides and forest edges. In regions such as Guanacaste where seasonality is pronounced, it is common in forest / pasture mosaics during the rainy season, but abandons these in favour of more heavily forested areas in the dry season.

Heliconius erato chestertonii, Medellin, Colombia – Adrian Hoskins

Lifecycle

The eggs are yellow, and laid singly on the leaf tips of Passiflora. The caterpillars are aggressively cannibalistic. When fully grown they are white, dotted with black and have branched black spines on the back and sides. The head is straw coloured with a pair of recurved black spines. The chrysalis is brown with golden spots on the abdomen and thorax. It has short black spikes on the abdomen and along the costa of the wing cases. The head is bifid, with the labial palpi extended and twisted. The overall impression is of a decaying dead twisted leaf, hanging from a stem.

Heliconius erato chestertonii, Medellin, Colombia – Adrian Hoskins

Adult behaviour

Heliconius butterflies are characterised by having a very delicate fluttering flight, particularly when hovering around flowers. They commonly nectar at Hamelia, Lantana and Palicourea.

Unlike other butterflies, Heliconius females feed on pollen as well as nectar. Studies of ethilla have shown that females deprived of pollen can only produce about 15% of the number of eggs laid by females that have access to it. This probably applies equally to other Heliconius species including melpomene. The pollen from Psiguria, Anguria and Gurania flowers provides amino acids that can’t be obtained from nectar or other sources, and contributes greatly to the longevity of the butterflies – some Heliconius species are known to live for up to 9 months as adults.

Studies have shown that Heliconius butterflies have home ranges within which they can memorise the locations of nectar and pollen sources, host plants and communal roosting sites. They are able to plan the most efficient route by which to visit all nectar / pollen sources in the vicinity by using simple calculations akin to what mathematicians call the “travelling salesman algorithm”. Erlich & Gilbert demonstrated that individual butterflies memorise the location of particular Psiguria plants, which they visit daily, following a predefined circuit through the forest.

In the genus Heliconius most species rely entirely on airborne chemicals to locate mates. Males of hecale, ismenius and cydno are attracted by pheromones to the pupae of conspecific females. The day before emergence a female pupa will usually have several males in close attendance. A frantic battle takes place the instant she hatches, as the males all struggle to copulate with her, not even allowing her time to expand and dry her wings. In some other Heliconius species such as hecalesia, hewitsoni, erato, charithonia and sara the males don’t even wait until the female emerges. Instead they physically break open her pupa and copulate as soon as her genitalia are accessible.

Heliconius erato adults roost gregariously overnight, hanging in clusters of up to 10 from dry stems, usually quite close to the ground.

Introduction

The tribe Heliconiini, colloquially known as Longwings, includes 71 species, all confined exclusively to the neotropics. The Heliconiini includes the genera Heliconius, Podotricha, Dryas, Agraulis, Dione, Dryadula, Eueides, Neruda, Laparus and Philaethria.

All Heliconius species have elongated black wings, marked with simple but striking patterns usually featuring streaks or patches of red and cream, or blue and cream. A few such as sara, antiochus and wallacei have a metallic blue sheen over the basal area of both wings. All are characterised by their delicate fluttering flight, long straight antennae, and fondness for flowers.

Heliconius melpomene is one of the commonest and most widespread of the Longwings, found from Mexico to Bolivia. It has no less than 29 named subspecies, many of which are Mullerian mimics of other Heliconius species – compare the images below of melpomene xenoclea and erato microclea. Both were photographed in the same forest glade at Satipo in Peru.

Heliconius melpomene xenoclea, Satipo, Peru – Adrian Hoskins

Heliconius erato microclea, Satipo, Peru – Adrian Hoskins

Habitats

Heliconius melpomene occurs at elevations between 0-1600m on both sides of the Andes although each of the various subspecies is restricted altitudinally as well as geographically. It can be seen flying in two’s or three’s around clearings, and along roads and tracks through primary forest, but seems to be more abundant in secondary forest.

Lifecycle

The eggs are yellow, and laid singly on the stipules and leaf buds of Passiflora. The caterpillar when fully grown is white with black spots, and branched black spines along the back and sides. The head is orange with a pair of recurved black spines. The pupa is brown with golden spots on the abdomen and thorax. It has long black spines on the abdomen and a series of short spines along the costa of the forewings on the wing pads. The head is bifid, with the labial palpi extended and twisted. The overall impression is of a decaying dead twisted leaf, hanging from a stem.

Adult behaviour

Heliconius butterflies are characterised by having a very delicate fluttering flight, particularly when hovering around flowers. They commonly nectar at Hamelia, Lantana and Palicourea.

Unlike other butterflies, Heliconius females feed on pollen as well as nectar. Studies of ethilla have shown that females deprived of pollen can only produce about 15% of the number of eggs laid by females that have access to it. This probably applies equally to other Heliconius species including melpomene. The pollen from Psiguria, Anguria and Gurania flowers provides amino acids that can’t be obtained from nectar or other sources, and contributes greatly to the longevity of the butterflies – some Heliconius species are known to live for up to 9 months as adults.

Studies have shown that Heliconius butterflies have home ranges within which they can memorise the locations of nectar and pollen sources, host plants and communal roosting sites. They are able to plan the most efficient route by which to visit all nectar / pollen sources in the vicinity by using simple calculations akin to what mathematicians call the “travelling salesman algorithm”. Erlich & Gilbert demonstrated that individual butterflies memorise the location of particular Psiguria plants, which they visit daily, following a predefined circuit through the forest.

In the genus Heliconius most species rely entirely on airborne chemicals to locate mates. Males of hecale, ismenius and cydno are attracted by pheromones to the pupae of conspecific females. The day before emergence a female pupa will usually have several males in close attendance. A frantic battle takes place the instant she hatches, as the males all struggle to copulate with her, not even allowing her time to expand and dry her wings. In some other Heliconius species such as hecalesia, hewitsoni, erato, charithonia and sara the males don’t even wait until the female emerges. Instead they physically break open her pupa and copulate as soon as her genitalia are accessible.