''Heliconius numata'', the Numata longwing, is a

brush-footed butterfly The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea, they are usually medium-sized to large butterflies. Most species have a red ...

species belonging to the family

Nymphalidae The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea, they are usually medium-sized to large butterflies. Most species have a red ...

, subfamily

Heliconiinae The Heliconiinae, commonly called heliconians or longwings, are a subfamily of the brush-footed butterflies (family Nymphalidae). They can be divided into 45–50 genera and were sometimes treated as a separate family Heliconiidae within the P ...

Distribution and habitat

This species is native to most of South America, from Venezuela to southern Brazil (Guyana, French Guiana, Surinam, Guatemala, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil and Peru). ''H. numata'' is a neotropical species, less common in virgin forest than in areas of secondary growth. It occurs at an elevation of above sea level in tall forests. Funet - Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and some other life forms''
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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 numata numata'' (Surinam, French Guiana, Guyana) *''Heliconius numata silvana'' (Stoll, 1781) (Surinam, Guyana, Venezuela, Guatemala, Brazil: Pará, Amazonas) *''Heliconius numata ethra'' (Hübner,

831 __NOTOC__ Year 831 ( DCCCXXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Byzantine–Arab War: Emperor Theophilos invades the Abbasid dominion ...

(Brazil: Espírito Santo) *''Heliconius numata aristiona'' Hewitson,

853 __NOTOC__ Year 853 ( DCCCLIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * May 22 – A Byzantine fleet (85 ships and 5,000 men) sacks and d ...

/small> (Bolivia, Peru) *''Heliconius numata aurora'' Bates, 1862 (Brazil: Amazonas, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru) *''Heliconius numata euphone'' C. & R. Felder, 1862 (Colombia, Ecuador) *''Heliconius numata messene'' C. & R. Felder, 1862 (Colombia) *''Heliconius numata bicoloratus'' Butler, 1873 (Peru) *''Heliconius numata arcuella'' Druce, 1874 (Peru) *''Heliconius numata nubifer'' Butler, 1875 (Brazil: Amazonas) *''Heliconius numata superioris'' Butler, 1875 (Brazil: Amazonas, Pará, Venezuela) *''Heliconius numata robigus'' Weymer, 1875 (Venezuela) *''Heliconius numata aulicus'' Weymer, 1883 (Venezuela) *''Heliconius numata lenaeus'' Weymer, 1891 (Ecuador) *''Heliconius numata lyrcaeus'' Weymer, 1891 (Peru) *''Heliconius numata geminatus'' Weymer, 1894 (Brazil: Amazonas) *''Heliconius numata illustris'' Weymer, 1894(Peru) *''Heliconius numata mavors'' Weymer, 1894 (Brazil: Amazonas) *''Heliconius numata mirus'' Weymer, 1894 (Bolivia) *''Heliconius numata tarapotensis'' Riffarth, 1901 (Peru) *''Heliconius numata zobrysi'' Fruhstorfer, 1910 (Brazil: Mato Grosso) *''Heliconius numata ignotus'' Joicey & Kaye, 1917 (Peru) *''Heliconius numata talboti'' Joicey & Kaye, 1917 (Peru) *''Heliconius numata pratti'' Joicey & Kaye, 1917 (Peru) *''Heliconius numata peeblesi'' Joicey & Talbot, 1925 (Venezuela) *''Heliconius numata jiparanaensis'' Neustetter, 1931 (Brazil: Rondônia) *''Heliconius numata holzingeri'' Fernández & Brown, 1976 (Venezuela) *''Heliconius numata sourensis'' Brown, 1976 (Brazil: Pará)

Description

''Heliconius numata'' has a wingspan of . These very large butterflies have long and rounded wings of brown and orange color, with very variable markings due to its capacity of mimicry with several species. The caterpillar is white with black spots and black thorns.

Biology

''H. numata'' is known for its mimicry of ''

Melinaea ''Melinaea'' is a genus of clearwing ( ithomiine) butterflies. They are in the brush-footed butterfly family, Nymphalidae. Species Arranged alphabetically:Müllerian mimicry Müllerian mimicry is a natural phenomenon in which two or more well-defended species, often foul-tasting and sharing common predators, have come to mimic each other's honest warning signals, to their mutual benefit. The benefit to Mülleria ...

, a mutualistic reinforcement of the same negative signal. Both males and females are attracted to red or orange flowers, or indeed to pieces of cloth colored red or orange. Eggs typically are found on low-growing vines of '' Passiflora''. Caterpillars mainly feed on plants from the subgenera '' Granadilla'', '' Astrophea'' and '' Distephana'' (

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 ...

) and from the genera '' Tetrastyli'' and '' Dilkea''.

Gallery

File:Heliconius numata bicoloratus (14863851469).jpg, ''Heliconius numata bicoloratus'' File:Heliconius numata numata MHNT dos.JPG, ''Heliconius numata numata'', dorsal, MHNT File:Heliconius numata numata MHNT ventre.JPG, ''Heliconius numata numata'', ventral, MHNT File:Heliconius mimicry.png, Top four are forms of ''Heliconius numata'', bottom four are '' H. melpomene'' and '' H. erato''

Bibliography

*Brown K. S. 1981 The Biology of Heliconius and Related Genera. Annual Review of Entomology 26, 427-456. *Cramer, Pieter 721_17761780. De uitlandische Kapellen voorkomende in de drie Waereld-Deelen Asia, Africa en America. Papillons exotiques des trois parties du monde l'Asie, l'Afrique et l'Amérique. Amsteldam, S. J. Baalde; Utrecht, Barthelemy Wild and J. Van Schoonho-ven & Comp.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3024578

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Nymphalidae of South America Butterflies described in 1780