''Heliconius eleuchia'', the white-edged longwing, is a species of '' Heliconius''

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

described by William Chapman Hewitson in 1853.

Subspecies

Subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

include: * ''Heliconius eleuchia eleuchia'' - present in

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

and in

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

* ''Heliconius eleuchia eleusinus'' Staudinger, 1885 - present in

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

* ''Heliconius eleuchia primularis'' Butler, 1869 - present in C. in

Distribution and habitat

This species is present

and

. It occurs in the riparian forest at an elevation up to above sea level.Tree of life
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Description

The wingspan of ''Heliconius eleuchia'' can reach about . These large butterflies have a slender body and long elongated front wings with a slightly concave inner edge. The basal half of the both wings is navy blue. Forewings are crossed by two yellow bands with irregular edges, running from the costal nervure to the inner angle and separating the apex from the rest of the wing. Hindwings have a large submarginal white area, crossed by black nervure. The underside presents the same ornamentation, but the forewings show a line of scarlet at the base and the hindwings have some scarlet spots in the basal area.

Biology

Caterpillars feed on ''

Passiflora ''Passiflora'', known also as the passion flowers or passion vines, is a genus of about 550 species of flowering plants, the type genus of the family Passifloraceae. They are mostly tendril-bearing vines, with some being shrubs or trees. They ...

macrophyllum The long-legged bat (''Macrophyllum macrophyllum'') is a member of the Phyllostomidae family in the order Chiroptera. Both males and females of this species are generally small, with wingspans reaching 80mm with an average weight ranging betwee ...

'' (

Passifloraceae The Passifloraceae are a family of flowering plants, containing about 750 species classified in around 27 genera. They include trees, shrubs, lianas, and climbing plants, and are mostly found in tropical regions. The family takes its name from t ...

). The males rest on females' pupae before emergence, and mating occurs the next morning.

Müllerian mimicry

''H. eleuchia'' engages in Müllerian mimicry with H. cydno, specifically in Ecuador. For this type of mimicry, species adopt one another's warning signals. In this case, coloring is used to warn a predator of the unpleasant taste of their intended prey. For instance, the subspecies ''H. cydno'' ''alithea'' has two potential colorings, one of which mimics the coloring of ''H. eleuchia''.

Bibliography

*Brown, K. S. 1981 The Biology of ''Heliconius'' and Related Genera. ''Annual Review of Entomology'' 26, 427-456. *Hewitson, W. C. 1854 ''Illustrations of New Species of Exotic Butterflies: Selected Chiefly from the Collections of W. Wilson Saunders and William C. Hewitson''. London, John Van Voorst.

References

eleuchia Nymphalidae of South America Butterflies described in 1853 {{Heliconiinae-stub