Heliconius ismenius

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Heliconius ismenius
Heliconiinae - Heliconius ismenius telchinia.jpg
Heliconius ismenius telchinia, dorsal view
Heliconius ismenius, Jardin Botanico de Munich, Alemania, 2013-01-27, DD 02.jpg
Ventral view
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Heliconius
Species:
H. ismenius
Binomial name
Heliconius ismenius
Latreille, [1817] [1]

Heliconius ismenius, the Ismenius tiger or tiger heliconian, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae found in Central America and northern South America. They are abundant as far south as Ecuador and Venezuela and as far north as southern Mexico, Guatemala and Belize. [2] H. ismenius are more commonly called the tiger-striped long wing butterfly. H. ismenius's nickname is derived from its long wing structure as well as the beautiful burnt orange and black stripes. Pierre André Latreille, a French zoologist, described Heliconius ismenius in 1817. H. ismenius resembles a number of other butterflies, an example of Müllerian mimicry.

Contents

Life and characteristics

Like any other butterfly, Heliconius ismenius start as eggs, grow to a larval, caterpillar stage, pupate and then mature into butterflies. The eggs are spread out under separate leaves with the mother only placing one or two eggs in a specific location of the host plant. [3] The eggs are small and yellow approximately 1.3 mm (height) x 0.8 mm (width). [4] As the larvae mature, they become larger, approximately 2 cm in size, and become colored. They have an orange head and anal plate and a white body with black spots all over. According to Beltran, the pupae were observed to have a strong bowed thorax with five pairs of black spine in the abdomen. [3] As well, the pupae are brown in color and contain an average of three gold colored spots on the pupae dorsum. [3] As a grown butterfly the antenna have short black spines all around as well as the short horns on the head.

Heliconius ismenius are known for feeding on specific plants. The plant a specific H. ismenius stays on throughout its lifetime is called a host plant. The host plants popular for H. ismenius are found in subgenera Distephana and genera Granadilla . They feed on Passiflora platyloba, P. ambigua, P. alata, and P. pedata in Costa Rica only. [5]

Throughout the rainforests they are found no higher than 1,500 meters. During the night, it is common that the adults form groups 3 to 10 meters above the ground. These groups are normally located along the forest edges on branches and tendrils of the host plants and trees. [2]

Member of a Müllerian mimicry ring

Heliconius ismenius shares the appearance of a number of other similar looking butterflies, of both the same genus [6] [7] and other genera ( Melinaea , Tithorea ) as a member of the "tiger" Müllerian mimicry ring. [7] Various butterfly species that share the trait of being toxic and unpalatable have evolved to share the same aposematic tiger stripe pattern to mutually advertise this protective trait, thereby increasing its recognition among predators.

Subspecies

Listed alphabetically: [1]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heliconiinae</span> Subfamily of butterfly family Nymphalidae

The Heliconiinae, commonly called heliconians or longwings, are a subfamily of the brush-footed butterflies. They can be divided into 45–50 genera and were sometimes treated as a separate family Heliconiidae within the Papilionoidea. The colouration is predominantly reddish and black, and though of varying wing shape, the forewings are always elongated tipwards, hence the common name.

<i>Heliconius charithonia</i> Species of butterfly

Heliconius charithonia, the zebra longwing or zebra heliconian, is a species of butterfly belonging to the subfamily Heliconiinae of the family Nymphalidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1767 12th edition of Systema Naturae. The boldly striped black and white wing pattern is aposematic, warning off predators. It is the state butterfly of Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Müllerian mimicry</span> Mutually beneficial mimicry of strongly defended species

Müllerian mimicry is a natural phenomenon in which two or more well-defended species, often foul-tasting and sharing common predators, have come to mimic each other's honest warning signals, to their mutual benefit. The benefit to Müllerian mimics is that predators only need one unpleasant encounter with one member of a set of Müllerian mimics, and thereafter avoid all similar coloration, whether or not it belongs to the same species as the initial encounter. It is named after the German naturalist Fritz Müller, who first proposed the concept in 1878, supporting his theory with the first mathematical model of frequency-dependent selection, one of the first such models anywhere in biology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sara longwing</span> Species of butterfly

The Sara longwing is a species of neotropical heliconiid butterfly found from Mexico to the Amazon Basin and southern Brazil. It is a colourful species: the dorsal wing surface is black with a large medial patch of metallic blue that is framed by two bands of white on the forewings. The ventral wing surface is a dull brown to black with muted bands and small red spots on the proximal margin; total wingspan is 55–60 mm.

<i>Heliconius erato</i> Species of butterfly

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<i>Heliconius hecale</i> Species of butterfly

Heliconius hecale, the tiger longwing, Hecale longwing, golden longwing or golden heliconian, is a heliconiid butterfly that occurs from Mexico to the Peruvian Amazon. Hecale, was an old woman who gave shelter to Theseus on his way to capture the Marathonian Bull.

<i>Heliconius cydno</i> Species of butterfly

Heliconius cydno, the cydno longwing, is a nymphalid butterfly that ranges from Mexico to northern South America. It is typically found in the forest understory and deposits its eggs on a variety of plants of the genus Passiflora. It is a member of the Heliconiinae subfamily of Central and South America, and it is the only heliconiine that can be considered oligophagous. H. cydno is also characterized by hybridization and Müllerian mimicry. Wing coloration plays a key role in mate choice and has further implications in regards to sympatric speciation. Macrolide scent gland extracts and wing-clicking behavior further characterize this species.

<i>Battus philenor</i> Species of butterfly

Battus philenor, the pipevine swallowtail or blue swallowtail, is a swallowtail butterfly found in North America and Central America. This butterfly is black with iridescent-blue hindwings. They are found in many different habitats, but are most commonly found in forests. Caterpillars are often black or red, and feed on compatible plants of the genus Aristolochia. They are known for sequestering acids from the plants they feed on in order to defend themselves from predators by being poisonous when consumed. The adults feed on the nectar of a variety of flowers. Some species of Aristolochia are toxic to the larvae, typically tropical varieties. While enthusiasts have led citizen efforts to conserve pipevine swallowtails in their neighborhoods on the West coast, the butterfly has not been the subject of a formal program in conservation or protected in legislation. The butterfly is however of "Special Concern" in Michigan, which is on the Northern limit of its range.

<i>Heliconius</i> Genus of brush-footed butterflies

Heliconius comprises a colorful and widespread genus of brush-footed butterflies commonly known as the longwings or heliconians. This genus is distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the New World, from South America as far north as the southern United States. The larvae of these butterflies eat passion flower vines (Passifloraceae). Adults exhibit bright wing color patterns which signal their distastefulness to potential predators.

<i>Heliconius melpomene</i> Species of butterfly

Heliconius melpomene, the postman butterfly, common postman or simply postman, is a brightly colored, geographically variable butterfly species found throughout Central and South America. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. Its coloration coevolved with another member of the genus, H. erato as a warning to predators of its inedibility; this is an example of Müllerian mimicry. H. melpomene was one of the first butterfly species observed to forage for pollen, a behavior that is common in other insect groups but rare in butterflies. Because of the recent rapid evolutionary radiation of the genus Heliconius and overlapping of its habitat with other related species, H. melpomene has been the subject of extensive study on speciation and hybridization. These hybrids tend to have low fitness as they look different from the original species and no longer exhibit Müllerian mimicry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">External morphology of Lepidoptera</span> External features of butterflies and moths

The external morphology of Lepidoptera is the physiological structure of the bodies of insects belonging to the order Lepidoptera, also known as butterflies and moths. Lepidoptera are distinguished from other orders by the presence of scales on the external parts of the body and appendages, especially the wings. Butterflies and moths vary in size from microlepidoptera only a few millimetres long, to a wingspan of many inches such as the Atlas moth. Comprising over 160,000 described species, the Lepidoptera possess variations of the basic body structure which has evolved to gain advantages in adaptation and distribution.

<i>Heliconius doris</i> Species of butterfly

Heliconius doris, the Doris longwing or Doris is a species of butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is known for being a polymorphic species which participates in various Müllerian mimicry rings throughout Central America and the Amazon rainforest. It is a species of special interest in biological science for the genetic basis and role of polymorphism (biology) in ecology and evolution.

<i>Heliconius numata</i> Species of butterfly

Heliconius numata, the Numata longwing, is a brush-footed butterfly species belonging to the family Nymphalidae, subfamily Heliconiinae.

<i>Heliconius hortense</i> Species of butterfly

Heliconius hortense, the Mexican longwing, Mexican heliconian or mountain longwing, is a heliconiid butterfly.

<i>Eueides isabella</i> Species of butterfly

Eueides isabella, the Isabella's longwing or Isabella's heliconian, is a species of nymphalid butterfly, belonging to the Heliconiinae subfamily.

<i>Heliconius clysonymus</i> Species of butterfly

Heliconius clysonymus, the Clysonymus longwing, yellow longwing or montane longwing, is a species of Heliconius butterfly found in Central and South America.

<i>Heliconius ethilla</i> Species of butterfly

Heliconius ethilla, the ethilia longwing, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It was described by Jean-Baptiste Godart in 1819. It is found from Panama to southern Brazil. The habitat consists of marginal forests.

<i>Heliconius sapho</i> Species of butterfly

Heliconius sapho, the Sapho longwing, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It was described by Dru Drury in 1782. It is found from Mexico southward to Ecuador.

<i>Heliconius eleuchia</i> Species of butterfly

Heliconius eleuchia, the white-edged longwing, is a species of Heliconius butterfly described by William Chapman Hewitson in 1853.

References

  1. 1 2 Heliconius ismenius at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
  2. 1 2 Brown, Keith. Ecological Geography and Evolution in Neotropical Forests.
  3. 1 2 3 Beltran, Margarita. "Heliconius ismenius Latrielle, 1817". The Tree of Life Web Project.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  4. Brown, Keith (1981). "The biology of Heliconius and Related Genera". Annual Review of Entomology. 26 (1): 427–456. doi:10.1146/annurev.en.26.010181.002235.
  5. DeVries, P (1997). The Butterflies of Costa Rica and Their Natural History. USA: Princeton University Press.
  6. Ferguson, L. C.; Maroja, L.; Jiggins, C. D. (2011). "Convergent, modular expression of ebony and tan in the mimetic wing patterns of Heliconius butterflies". Development Genes and Evolution. 221 (5–6): 297–308. doi:10.1007/s00427-011-0380-6. PMID   22139062. S2CID   24158797.
  7. 1 2 Mallet, J.; Gilbert, L. E. (1995). "Why are there so many mimicry rings? Correlations between habitat, behaviour and mimicry in Heliconius butterflies". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 55 (2): 159–180. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.1995.tb01057.x.
  8. Heliconius ismenius clarescens Archived 2015-04-25 at the Wayback Machine , on Butterflies of America
  9. Tiger-striped Longwing Archived 2015-04-25 at the Wayback Machine , Butterflies of America