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Heliconius hewitsoni(Heliconius hewitsoni)
Phylum —arthropoda
Class —insecta
Order —lepidoptera
Family —nymphalidae
Genus –heliconius
Appearance
Eggs are yellow and approximately 1.2 x 0.8 mm (h x w). Mature larvae have a yellow and green body with yellow scoli and black head; length is around 0.3 cm. Pupae are pale yellow to pale brown, with well-marked black veins and black spines.
Adult: A distinctive black butterfly with yellow transverse bands on fore- and hindwings. Forewing length: 34-41 mm.
Habitat
Heliconiushewitsoni is distributed in the province of Chiriqui (Panama) and the Pacific slopes of Costa Rica.
Behavior
These butterflies are poisonous. They are active during the day. They fly fast and easily.
Butterflies spend the night in small groups. The caterpillars also live in groups.
Diet
Butterflies eat flower nectar. The females eat the pollen.
Reproduction
Females usually place 20 to 40 eggs on growing shoots of the host plant.
In captivity
The mesh cage 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.
For their reproduction you need a terrarium with a size of 50x50x70 cm. Females lay eggs in groups of 40 items on the leaves of the forage plant. Incubation lasts 7-10 days. The caterpillars eat the leaves of Passiflora.It is better to keep the caterpillars in mesh terrariums of 10-20 pieces. In the terrarium, you need to place a branch of a forage plant. The temperature is 22-25oC. The humidity is 60-70%.
The life cycle takes a little more than a month. Butterflies live up to 6 months.
