Zebra longwing butterfly

Zebra longwing butterfly at Lovers Key

Zebra longwing butterfly Heliconius charithonia

Zebra longwing butterfly belongs to the Heliconiidae family. 

The butterfly has long, thin wings which are all black, with small yellow stips going across the wing with small red spots close to the body. They have a wingspan of 100mm.  The female and male are identical in appearance. It is neo-tropical meaning it ranges in the very south of America and Mexico.  

The butterfly prefers warm and damp areas. The  caterpillars eat passion flower leaves, but these leaves have a toxin which leaves a bad taste for the butterflies, this is also poisonous for the predators.

The zebra longwing mates as soon as it leaves the chrysalis. The females lays the eggs (five to fifteen) on the passion flower leaves. When the eggs hatch the caterpillars are black and yellow. The longwing make many generations per year. The females lay tiny, yellow eggs in small clusters on leaves. The butterflies feed on nectar and pollen. 

The butterfly makes a squeaking sound when it is bothered. When the sun goes down the butterflies come together in big groups and roost, night after night they come to the same tree. 

Entnemdept.ufl.edu, (2015). zebra longwing - Heliconius charitonia. [online] Available at: http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/bfly/zebra_longwing.htm [Accessed 5 Apr. 2015].

Nhptv.org, (2015). Zebra Longwing Butterfly - Heliconius charitonius - NatureWorks. [online] Available at: http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/zebralongwing.htm [Accessed 5 Apr. 2015].