Heliconius antiochus on red Pentas
Heliconius comprises a colorful and widespread genus of brush-footed butterflies commonly known as the longwings or heliconians. This genus is distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the New World, from South America as far north as the southern US. The larvae of these butterflies eat Passion flower vines (Passifloraceae). Adults exhibit bright wing color patterns to signal their distastefulness to potential predators.
Heliconius butterflies have been the subject of many studies, due partly to their abundance and the relative ease of breeding them under laboratory conditions, but also because of the extensive mimicry that occurs in this group. From the nineteenth century to the present-day, their study has helped scientists to understand how new species are formed and why nature is so diverse.
Because of the type of plant material that Heliconius caterpillars favor and the resulting poisons they store in their tissues, the adult butterflies are usually unpalatable to predators by bright colors and contrasting wing patterns, a phenomenon known as aposematism.
Heliconius antiochus
Wings of the Tropics, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Miami, FL
Heliconius antiochus on red Pentas
Heliconius comprises a colorful and widespread genus of brush-footed butterflies commonly known as the longwings or heliconians. This genus is distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the New World, from South America as far north as the southern US. The larvae of these butterflies eat Passion flower vines (Passifloraceae). Adults exhibit bright wing color patterns to signal their distastefulness to potential predators.
Heliconius butterflies have been the subject of many studies, due partly to their abundance and the relative ease of breeding them under laboratory conditions, but also because of the extensive mimicry that occurs in this group. From the nineteenth century to the present-day, their study has helped scientists to understand how new species are formed and why nature is so diverse.
Because of the type of plant material that Heliconius caterpillars favor and the resulting poisons they store in their tissues, the adult butterflies are usually unpalatable to predators by bright colors and contrasting wing patterns, a phenomenon known as aposematism.
Heliconius antiochus
Wings of the Tropics, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Miami, FL