Heliconius hecalesia

Heliconius hecalesia, the five-spotted longwing, is a species of butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found from Central America to Venezuela and Ecuador.[2]

Five-spotted longwing
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Heliconius
Species:
H. hecalesia
Binomial name
Heliconius hecalesia
Subspecies

Seven, see text

Synonyms
  • Heliconia hecalesia Hewitson, [1854]
  • Heliconius formosus Bates, 1866
  • Heliconius octavia Bates, 1866
  • Heliconius hecalesia ernestus Brown & Benson, 1975

The wingspan is 50–61 mm. Adults feed on flower nectar.

The larvae feed on plants from the subgenera Tryphostemmatoides and Plectostemma, including Passiflora biflora and Passiflora lancearea. They are gregarious. Pupation takes place in a slate grey pupa with black markings.

Subspecies
  • H. h. hecalesia (Colombia)
  • H. h. formosus Bates, 1866 (Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua)
  • H. h. octavia Bates, 1866 (Guatemala)
  • H. h. gynaesia Hewitson, 1875
  • H. h. longarena Hewitson, 1875 (Colombia)
  • H. h. eximius Stichel, 1923 (Colombia)
  • H. h. romeroi Brown & Fernández, 1985 (Venezuela)

References
  1. Heliconius hecalesia at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
  2. TOLweb


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