Heliconius charithonia

Zebra Longwing Butterfly (Heliconius charithonia )

The Zebra Longwing Butterfly (Heliconius charithonia ) is a butterfly ( butterfly ) of the family Nymphalidae ( Nymphalidae ).

Description

The moths reach a wingspan of 70 to 100 millimeters. Their wings are relatively long and narrow. Your coloring is the same on both sides. The basic color is black on the front wings extend three lemon yellow lines from the leading edge to the outer edge. On the hind wings runs another such line, added a chain of lemon yellow dots, the first extending from the wing tip on the outer edge and then along but makes an arc that ends approximately at the middle of the wing inner edge. Another, much weaker point range runs along the outer edge to the inner edge without having to meet the two rows. The underwings are almost colored the same, but you can recognize several inconspicuous red spots.

The caterpillars are white and carry on throughout the body long, black spines.

Occurrence

The animals are found throughout South America and in North America north to Mexico, south Texas and Florida. Rarely do you find them also in New Mexico, Nebraska and South Carolina. They live mainly in tropical rainforests and other moist forests, but also occur in an open area.

Way of life

Males fly in search of females brisk around. You will even be attracted to female dolls. In these animals stay until the female is hatched to mate can. At night, Zebra butterflies always gather to sleep at a certain place, with preference over ponds because they like the higher humidity there. At such places for overnight stays may well spend the night over a hundred moths, but mostly it's 25 to 30 animals. The risk to be eaten under such a large amount, is very low. The moths always gather in the same place. Together, but it discourages a strong, not too appetizing smelling fragrance from the predators. When it rains, the butterflies hanging upside down under leaves, so as not to get wet.

The females lay their orange, oblong and coarsely longitudinally grooved eggs in small groups of 5 to 15 pieces onto leaves and branches of the caterpillar food plants. The caterpillars are nocturnal.

Food of the caterpillars

The caterpillars feed on passion flowers, especially of Passiflora suberosa, Passiflora lutea and Passiflora affinis. The caterpillars are inedible, by including a poison of this plant even for predators.

Flight times and caterpillars

The moths continuously bring forth generations. Only in the northern geographical areas they fly only in the warm months.