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.
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. And it’s the state butterfly of Florida.
Heliconius erato, or the red postman, is one of about 40 neotropical species of butterfly belonging to the genus Heliconius. It is also commonly known as the small postman, the red passion flower butterfly, or the crimson-patched longwing. It was described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
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.
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.
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.
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. 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.
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.
Heliconius numata, the Numata longwing, is a brush-footed butterfly species belonging to the family Nymphalidae, subfamily Heliconiinae.
Heliconius hortense, the Mexican longwing, Mexican heliconian or mountain longwing, is a heliconiid butterfly.
Eueides isabella, the Isabella's longwing or Isabella's heliconian, is a species of nymphalid butterfly, belonging to the Heliconiinae subfamily.
Heliconius hermathena, the Hermathena longwing, is a species of butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is endemic to white sand areas of the Amazon basin. Heliconius hermathena is a sand forest nymphalid butterfly and they are typically lowland tropical forest organisms although a handful subspecies can be found in southeastern Brazil and part of the dry forests of Peru.
Heliconius hecuba, the Hecuba longwing, is a species of butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It lives at altitudes ranging from 1000 to 2400 m in cloud forests in the northern Andes from Colombia to Ecuador.
Heliconius burneyi, the Burney's longwing, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It was described by Jacob Hübner in 1831. It is found in the Amazon basin. The habitat consists of tall forests.
Heliconius demeter, the Demeter longwing, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It was described by Otto Staudinger in 1897. It is found in the Northern and Eastern part of the Amazon basin, from Guyana to Northern Brazil and Peru. The habitat consists of sandy rainforests.
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.
Heliconius ricini, the ricini longwing, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. It is found from Venezuela and Trinidad to the Guianas and northern Brazil. The habitat consists of savanna-type areas.
Heliconius aoede, the Aoede longwing, is a species of butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It was described by Jacob Hübner in 1813. It is found in the Amazon basin. The habitat consists of deep forests.
Feliciano Miguel Abdala Private Natural Heritage Reserve, formerly the Fazenda Montes Claros and then the Caratinga Biological Station, is a privately owned sustainable-use protected area in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. It contains an example of Atlantic Forest biome. The reserve is home to rare buffy-headed marmosets and to one of the last wild populations of northern muriqui woolly spider monkeys.
Heliconius eratosignis, the eratosignis longwing, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It was described by James John Joicey and George Talbot in 1925. It is found in the south-western Amazon basin, from Brazil to Peru and Bolivia. The habitat consists of sandy rainforests.
