Heliconius melpomene

• Overview
• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Description

Family Nymphalidae

'The Nymphalidae are members of the Superfamily Papilionoidea, the true butterflies. Distributed worldwide, butterflies of this family are especially rich in the tropics. They are highly variable, and there are more species in this family than in any other. Adults vary in size from small to large, and their front legs are reduced, unable to be used for walking. Wing shape is also highly variable: some species have irregular margins (anglewings and commas), and others have long taillike projections (daggerwings). Browns, oranges, yellows, and blacks are frequent colors, while iridescent colors such as purples and blues are rare. Adults of some groups are the longest-lived butterflies, surviving 6-11 months. Adult feeding behavior depends on the species, where some groups primarily seek flower nectar while others only feed on sap flows , rotting fruit, dung, or animal carcasses. Males exhibit perching and patrolling behaviors when seeking mates. Egg-laying varies widely, as some species lay eggs in clustsers, others in columns, and others singly. Caterpillar appearance and behavior vary widely. Brushfoots overwinter as larvae or adults.

'[1]

Subfamily Heliconiinae

Longwings are members of the Family Nymphalidae. They are richest in the tropics, but several genera are prominent in the Northern Hermisphere, including the fritillaries or silverspots and the lesser fritillaries. The adults of several species are distasteful, and many other species mimic the distasteful butterflies of this subfamily . Adults are long-lived, with some as long as six months. Males patrol in search of females. The adults of genus Heliconius are unique in that they intentionally collect pollen in their proboscis and then absorb its proteins.[2]

Habitat

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 1,412 meters (0 to 4,633 feet).[3]

Taxonomy

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Similar Species

Members of the genus Heliconius

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 26 species and subspecies in this genus:

H. antiochus (Anitochus Longwing) · H. charithonia (Zebra) · H. charithonia charithonia (Zebra Butterfly) · H. charithonia tuckeri (Zebra Longwing) · H. clysonimus (Passionvine Butterfly) · H. clysonymus (Clysonymus Longwing) · H. cydno (Blue and White Longwing) · H. doris (Doris Longwing) · H. eleuchia (Eleuchia Longwing Butterfly) · H. erato (Crimson Patched) · H. hecale (Tiger Longwing) · H. hecale zuleika (Hecale Longwing) · H. hecale zuleika f. albipunctata (Hecale Longwing) · H. hermathena (Hermathona Heliconian) · H. hortense (Mountain Longwing) · H. ismenius (Ismenius Tiger) · H. melpomene (Postman) · H. melpomene rosina (Tragic Longwing) · H. melpomene xenoclea (Xenoclea Longwing) · H. nattereri (Natterer's Longwing) · H. numata (Numata Longwing) · H. procula (Acting Longwing) · H. sara (Sara Longwing Butterfly) · H. sara fulgidus (Sara's Longwing) · H. telesiphe (Telesiphe Longwing) · H. wallacei (Wallace's Longwing)

More Info

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Further Reading

• A hand-book to the order Lepidoptera. By W.F. Kirby. .. London, E. Lloyd, limited, 1896-1897. url p. 42.
• A handbook to the order Lepidoptera. By W. F. Kirby. London, E. Lloyd, limited, 1896-1897. url p. 41, p. 42.
• Annual report / Albany: University of the State of New York, 1902-1918. url p. 73.
• Bibliography (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) / Charles A. Bridges. Urbana, Ill.: C.A. Bridges, c1993. url p. 137.
• Biology and migratory behavior of Agraulis vanillae (L.) (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae) / by Richard Terrance Arbogast. 1965. url p. 14, p. 17.
• Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College. Cambridge, Mass.: The Museum, 1863- url , , p. 172, p. 173, p. 208.
• Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences. Los Angeles, Calif.: The Academy, 1902-1971. url p. 4.
• Chemical interactions among milkweed plants (asclepiadaceae) and lepidopteran herbivores / by James A. Cohen. 1983. url p. 15.
• Concealing-coloration in the animal kingdom; an exposition of the laws of disguise through color and pattern: being a summary of Abbott H. Thayer's discoveries, New York, The Macmillan Co., 1909. url , , , , , .
• Darwinism: an exposition of the theory of natural selection, with some of its applications / by Alfred Russel Wallace. London; Macmillan, 1891. url p. 45.
• Entomological news. [Philadelphia]American Entomological Society, 1925- url p. 133, p. 138, p. 288, p. 302.
• First[-ninth] annual report on the noxious, beneficial and other insects, of the state of Missouri, made to the State board of agriculture, pursuant to an appropriation for this purpose from the Legislature of the state. By Charles V. Riley, state entomologist. Jefferson City, Mo., 1869-77. url p. 173.
• Genera insectorum / publiés par P. Wytsman. Bruxelles, L. Desmet-Verteneuil [etc.]1902-1970. url , p. 23, p. 24, p. 25, p. 26, p. 27, p. 28, p. 43, p. 45, p. 65, p. 66, p. 67, p. 68, p. 69, p. 70, p. 71, p. 72, p. 73.
• Genetics today: proceedings of the XI International Congress of Genetics, The Hague, The Netherlands, September 1963 / edited by S. J. Geerts. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1963-65. url p. 146.
• Insects. by David Sharp. London: Macmillan, 1909. url p. 351.
• Mimicry in butterflies, Cambridge, University Press, 1915. url .
• Mimicry in butterflies, by Reginald Crundall Punnett. .. Cambridge, University press, 1915. url , p. 185, p. 42.
• Mimicry in butterflies. CambridgeUniversity Press1915 url , , p. 42.
• Museum bulletin / New York State Museum. Albany, N.Y.: University of the State of New York, 1908-1916. url p. 73.
• Naturalist on the River Amazons: a record of adventures, habits of animals, sketches of Brazilian and Indian life, and aspects of nature under the equator, during eleven years of travel / by Henry Walter Bates. London: J. Murray, 1875. url .
• Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. Washington, etc.: Entomological Society of Washington url p. 678, p. 679, p. 681, p. 685, p. 686.
• Proceedings of the United States National Museum. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, [etc.] url p. 146, p. 631.
• Protective resemblance in the insecta / by Mark L. Sykes. Manchester: Hinchliffe and Co. Ltd., 1904. url p. 190.
• The Annals and magazine of natural history; zoology, botany, and geology being a continuation of the Annals combined with Loudon and Charlesworth's Magazine of Natural History. London, Taylor and Francis, Ltd. url p. 92, p. 92, p. 94.
• The Cambridge natural history / edited by S. F. Harmer and A. E. Shipley. London: Macmillan and Co.; 1895-1909. url p. 351, p. 612.
• The Cambridge natural history, London, Macmillan and Co., Limited;1895-1909 url .
• The Cambridge natural history, ed. by S.F. Harmer. .. and A.E. Shipley. .. London, Macmillan and co., limited;1895-1909 url p. 351.
• The Entomologist's monthly magazine. Oxford [etc.]Entomologist's Monthly Magazine Ltd. [etc.] url p. 165, p. 22, p. 41.
• The Entomologist's record and journal of variation. s.l., s.n. url p. 161, p. 261, p. 268, p. 38, p. 43.
• The Entomologist. London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co., [1877- url p. 116.
• The Hope reports. Oxford: Printed for private circulation, 1897-1958. url .
• The Macrolepidoptera of the world; a systematic description of the hitherto known Macrolepidoptera, ed. in collaboration with well-known specialists. Stuttgart: Seitz'schen (Kernen), 1906- url p. 1040, p. 375.
• The evolution theory, London, E. Arnold, 1904. url .
• The naturalist on the River Amazons, A record of adventures, habits of animals, sketches of Brazilian and Indian life and aspects of nature under the Equator during eleven years of travel. By Henry Walter Bates. . London, J. Murray, 1863. url .
• The naturalist on the river Amazons. A record of adventures, habits of animals, sketches of Brazilian and Indian life, and aspects of nature under the Equator, during eleven years of travel. With a memoir of the author, by Edward Clodd. London, J. Murray, 1892. url p. 15.
• The variation of animals in nature, by G.C. Robson. .. and O.W. Richards. .. with 2 coloured plates and 30 illustrations in the text. London, Longmans, Green and co.[1936] url p. 102.
• Timehri. Demerara: "Argosy" url p. 197.

Notes

Contributors

• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 9, 2012.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed February 26, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 3 providers.
• LepIndex: The Global Lepidoptera Names Index
• Ruggiero M., Gordon D., Bailly N., Kirk P., Nicolson D. (2011). The Catalogue of Life Taxonomic Classification, Edition 2, Part A. In: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2011 Annual Checklist (Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Ouvrard D., eds). DVD; Species 2000: Reading, UK.
• The Global Lepidoptera Names Index2, 12.2, 2005.

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2971549
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Lep-152733.0
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 165535

Footnotes

1. http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy?f=18&sci=Nymphalidae&com=Brush-footed Butterflies [back]
2. http://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Freija&search=Search [back]
3. Mean = 176.480 meters (579.003 feet), Standard Deviation = 522.850 based on 42 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.