''Heliconius heurippa'' is a

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 ...

of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

'' Heliconius'' that is believed by some scientists to be a separate species from—but a

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

of—the species ''

Heliconius cydno ''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 ...

'' and ''

Heliconius melpomene ''Heliconius melpomene'', the postman butterfly, common postman or simply postman, is a brightly colored butterfly found throughout Central and South America. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae' ...

'', making ''H. heurippa'' an example of hybrid speciation.

Range

''H. heurippa'' is found on the eastern slopes of the

Andes Mountains The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the List of mountain ranges#Mountain ranges by length, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range i ...

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 ...

Hybridisation

The color pattern of ''H. heurippa'' appears to be a combination of the patterns found on ''H. cydno'' and ''H. melpomene''. Natural hybrids from

San Cristóbal, Táchira San Cristóbal () is the capital city of the Venezuelan state of Táchira. It is located in a mountainous region of Western Venezuela. The city is situated above sea level in the northern Andes overlooking the Torbes River, from the Colombian ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, display wing patterns very similar to ''H. heurippa'', supporting the hypothesis of a hybrid origin for the species. A team from the

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI, es, Instituto Smithsonian de Investigaciones Tropicales) is located in Panama and is the only bureau of the Smithsonian Institution based outside of the United States. It is dedicated to understa ...

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

attempted to recreate ''H. heurippa'' by breeding ''H. cydno'' with ''H. melpomene''. In only three generations of hybridization, the investigators developed butterflies with wing patterns almost identical to those of ''H. heurippa'' that may be very similar to the first ''H. heurippa'' individuals. Butterflies within ''Heliconius'' are "extremely choosey" about finding mates with wing patterns that match their own, and ''H. heurippa'' males given a choice between mating with females of ''H. heurippa'', ''H. cydno'', or ''H. melpomene'' species were 75 to 90 percent more likely to choose their own kind. They were similarly discriminating when presented with photographs of wing patterns instead of actual mates. The wing patterns of ''H. heurippa'' individuals also make them undesirable as mates for members of their parents' species as well, showing evidence for

reproductive isolation The mechanisms of reproductive isolation are a collection of evolutionary mechanisms, behaviors and physiological processes critical for speciation. They prevent members of different species from producing offspring, or ensure that any offspring ...

between ''H. heurippa'' and its putative parental species. Skeptics wish to see further

genetic sequencing Genetic Sequencing may refer to: * DNA sequencing * Whole genome sequencing Whole genome sequencing (WGS), also known as full genome sequencing, complete genome sequencing, or entire genome sequencing, is the process of determining the entiret ...

demonstrating that wild ''H. heurippa'' is a hybrid similar to the laboratory-developed animals, and the ''H. heurippa'' hybrid speciation hypothesis has been the subject of a recent (2011) critical review. There is evidence to suggest that the

genome In the fields of molecular biology and genetics, a genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding ge ...

of ''H. heurippa'' may be a

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

. The species '' H. timareta'' and '' H. pachinus'' are also proposed to result from the hybridization of ''H. cydno'' and ''H. melpomene''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3129732 heurippa Butterflies described in 1854 Taxa named by William Chapman Hewitson Nymphalidae of South America Lepidoptera of Colombia