Zebra Longwing Butterfly; Heliconius charitonius
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Zebra Longwing
Heliconius charitonius
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Florida State Butterfly |
favorite nectar plant |
is a favorite nectar source for a Zebra Longwing butterfly. |
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through a microscope |
on passionvine tendrils. |
of various sizes. |
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have white/clear spikes |
it's old skin. |
white with black 'hair' |
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may be several shades of brown |
looks like an insect with pinchers |
shows butterfly wings through the pupa skin |
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varies in size. |
drinks from a trumpet flower |
Zebra Longwing wings. |
Zebra Longwing butterflies lay eggs on passionvine that is in the shade. They lay eggs on the tips and on the tendrils of the vine. Young caterpillars often eat together on the same leaf. This makes them especially easy for a predator to locate. Upon locating one caterpillar, it simply continues to eat caterpillars on the same leaf or sprig. Zebra Longwing butterfly caterpillars (larvae) cannot (or rarely) eat passionvine with bright red blooms and live to become an adult. Freshly molted caterpillars have clear/white hair/spines. After a short while, these turn black. Zebra Longwing caterpillars (larvae) are white with black hair/spines. Favorite nectar sources for Zebra Longwing butterflies are Firebush, Firespike, Butterfly Bush, Trumpet Flower, Pentas, and Firecracker. They are especially attracted to red flowers. |