Heliconius erato

Heliconius erato (Heliconius erato)

Phylum — arthropoda
Class — insecta
Order — lepidoptera
Family — nymphalidae

Genus – heliconius

Appearance

Adult wingspans range from about 6.7 to 8.0 cm.

Adult males have androconial scales on the subcostal region of their hindwings and on their median membrane.

Adults have a variety of phenotypes, all with red coloration. These include: dennis-ray pattern ("dennis" refers to a red patch on the forewing; "ray" refers to red lines on the hindwing); red on the forewing with yellow on the hindwing; yellow on the forewing and red on the hindwing; and white or yellow on the hindwing and forewing. Heliconius erato chestertonii is the only subspecies without any red markings, instead displaying blue.

Habitat

Heliconius erato is a neotropical species, found from southern Texas to northern Argentina and Paraguay, and resides on the edges of tropical rainforests.

Behavior

The butterfly returns every evening to the flock which is home to representatives of different species of the family Heliconius. Their "roost" is usually located about 2-10 meters from the ground on branches and is occupied by a small group of butterflies. Adult butterflies that have just emerged from the pupa usually live alone for a few days, and then join the flock.

Diet

Heliconius erato larvae feed primarily on plants from the subgenera Granadilla, Tryphostemmatoides, and Plectostemma (Passifloraceae).

Heliconius erato is a pollen-feeding species, collecting from the Lantana camara flower. They do not spend much time or energy collecting nectar (only remaining for a few seconds). Instead, they collect pollen in a mass on the ventral side of their proboscis. They then agitate the pollen by coiling and uncoiling their proboscis in order to release its nutrients. Heliconius erato is then able to extract nitrogenous compounds in a clear liquid, including amino acids like arginine, leucine, lysine, valine, proline, histidine, isoleucine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, and tryptophan. Females typically carry larger loads of pollen than males as females require more amino acids for egg production.

Reproduction

The Heliconius erato female lays one to four yellow eggs a day that average 1.5 mm in height and 0.9 mm in diameter. The eggs have a unique texture, with about 16 vertical and 11 horizontal ridges. Some plants mimic this in order to discourage females from ovipositing on them.

The caterpillar appearance is very discrete when young and has a small, dark prothoracic plate. As it matures, its appearance grows more colorful.

Heliconius pupae are usually camouflaged and have defensive spikes. Pupae may be light or dark.

Adult butterflies live for at least 20 days in the wild. In captivity, they live from a month to six months.