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Text and photographs protected by Copyright © Adrian Hoskins 2007, and must not be published in part or in whole elsewhere without prior written permission from the author.
Butterflies of the Amazon rainforest
 
Tiger Mimic Longwing
Heliconius numata CRAMER, 1780
Family - NYMPHALIDAE
subfamily - HELICONIINAE
Tribe - HELICONINI
 
 introduction | habitats | lifecycle | adult behaviour
 
Heliconius numata, Rio Madre de Dios, 500m, Peru
 
Introduction
 
The Heliconiinae is subdivided into the tribes Acraeini, Argynnini, and Heliconiini.
 
The Heliconiini are colloquially known as Longwings, and are confined exclusively to the neotropical region. All species have elongated wings with a dark brown or blackish ground colour. Most of the 39 species in the genus Heliconius are marked with patches or streaks of bright orange, red and / or cream. A few, such as sara, antiochus and wallacei have a metallic blue sheen over the basal area of both wings. All are characterised by their delicate fluttering flight, long straight antennae, and fondness for flowers.
 
Heliconius numata is a member of what is commonly called the "tiger complex" - a group of about 200 species from various families which all share a common pattern of orange stripes on a blackish ground colour. Most of these species are Müllerian mimics - toxic species which benefit by sharing a common pattern, because any bird which suffers the unpleasant experience of tasting one member of the complex quickly learns to avoid attacking any similar looking species. Even skilled entomologists often have difficulty distinguishing the many unrelated species in this group.
 
As well as Müllerian mimics such as the Ithomiines Tithorea harmonia, Melinaea marsaeus and Forbestra equicola; toxic Danaines such as Lycorea pasinuntia, the tiger-complex also includes non-toxic Batesian mimics. Amongst these are Heliconius numata, Heliconius hecale, and members of other families such as Perrhybris pamela ( Pierinae ), Eresia eunice ( Nymphalinae ), Consul fabius ( Charaxinae ), Pterourus zagreus ( Papilioninae ) and even a Riodinid - Stalachtis calliope.
 
Heliconius numata is a widespread species, found from Panama to Bolivia.
 
Habitats
 
The butterfly occurs commonly at elevations between sea level and about 1000m. It is usually seen singly, fluttering along forest paths in primary rainforest, but also occurs in more open secondary forest.
 
Lifecycle
 
The eggs are orange, and laid singly on the leaf buds or tendrils of Passiflora.
 
The caterpillar, when fully grown is white with black spots, and branched black spines along the back and sides. The head is orange, with a pair of black horns.
 
The chrysalis is brown with gold spots on the abdomen and thorax. There is a row of short black spikes along each antenna, and longer spines along the back. The head is bifid. The overall impression is of a dead twisted prickly leaf, hanging from a stem.
 
Adult behaviour

 

Heliconius butterflies, including numata, are characterised by having a delicate fluttering flight, particularly when hovering around flowers.

 

Both sexes visit Lantana and a wide variety of other flowers for nectar, and sequester pollen from Psiguria flowers in the forest. Erlich & Gilbert demonstrated that individual butterflies learn and remember the location of particular Psiguria plants, which they visit daily, following a predefined circuit through the forest. The pollen collected from the flowers is processed by the butterflies to extract proteins which enable the females to continue producing eggs over a long period. They also increase longevity - adults can live for up to 9 months, much longer than other rainforest species.

 

 

Text and photographs protected by Copyright © Adrian Hoskins 2007-2008, and must not be reproduced or published in part or in whole elsewhere in any form without written permission from Adrian Hoskins. Breach of copyright will be pursued by litigation.

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