Heliconius charithonia

Zebra longwing
Heliconius charithonia in Florida

Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Heliconius
Species:
H. charithonia
Binomial name
Heliconius charithonia
Synonyms
  • Papilio charithonia
  • Heliconius charithonius
  • Apostraphia charithonia Dyar, 1903

Heliconius charithonia, the zebra longwing or zebra heliconian, is a species of butterfly belonging to the subfamily Heliconiinae of the family Nymphalidae.[2][3] 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.

The species is distributed across South and Central America and as far north as southern Texas and peninsular Florida; there are migrations north into other American states in the warmer months.[4]

Zebra longwing adults roost communally at night in groups of up to 60 adults for safety from predators. The adult butterflies are unusual in feeding on pollen as well as on nectar; the pollen enables them to synthesize cyanogenic glycosides that make their bodies toxic to potential predators. Caterpillars feed on various species of passionflower, evading the plants' defensive trichomes by biting them off or laying silk mats over them.

The zebra longwing, Heliconius charithonia (Linnaeus),was designated the state butterfly of Florida in 1996. [4] However, mass spraying of naled has decimated the zebra longwing population in Miami-Dade County, Florida[citation needed]. There has been mass collapse of the colonies with impacts on the balance of the ecosystem. Further studies are needed to evaluate any potential for recolonization.

Feeding. Video clip
Zebra Longwings nectering
  1. ^ "NatureServe Explorer 2.0 - Heliconius charithonia, Zebra Longwing". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  2. ^ Beccaloni, G.; Scoble, M.; Kitching, I.; Simonsen, T.; Robinson, G.; Pitkin, B.; Hine, A.; Lyal, C., eds. (2003). "​Heliconius charithonia​". The Global Lepidoptera Names Index. Natural History Museum. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Attributes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Moisset, Beatriz. "Zebra Longwing Butterfly". U.S. Forestry Service. Retrieved 18 October 2023.