Heliconius hecale

Heliconius hecale (Heliconius hecale)

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

Genus – heliconius

Appearance

Along their dorsal surface, caterpillars are white with numerous black spines, while their ventral surface is greenish-orange.

The wingspan of this butterfly is 85-100 mm. The forewings are black, with a large orange area where the wings attach to the body and tips covered in white spots. The hindwings are orange with black tips and light brown top edges. The dorsal and ventral wing surfaces look the same.

Habitat

Heliconius hecale occur throughout Central America and continue into South America to the Amazon.

Behavior

It demonstrates daily activity. Butterflies are poisonous. The flight is fast and easy.

The caterpillars live in small groups. Butterflies roost singly or in loose groups at a height of 2-10 m above the ground on the branches.

Diet

Caterpillars mostly feed on passion vine (Passifloraceae). Butterflies feed on flower nectar. The females eat pollen.

Reproduction

For their reproduction you need a terrarium with a size of 50 x 50 x 70 cm. Females lay eggs one at a time on the tips of the leaves and tendrils of the passion flower. The eggs are yellow, elongated, and about 1.9 x 0.9 mm in size. The incubation period is 4-6 days. It is better to keep the caterpillars in terrariums of 6-8 pieces. In the terrarium, you need to place a forage plant. Temperature in the terrarium is 22-25 ^oC at the humidity of 60-70%. The pupae are golden brown, with three golden spots on the dorsal part and many small spines, and they have a pair of small horns on the head. The pupa looks like a twisted dry leaf. The life cycle takes a little more than a month. Butterflies live up to 6 weeks.

In captivity

The mesh terrarium with a size of 50 × 50 × 70 mm is suitable for keeping butterflies. Room temperature is necessary. Daylight time is 12 hours. You can feed butterflies with honey syrup diluted with boiled water in a ratio of 1: 10 and flower pollen.