Heliconius numata explained

Heliconius numata, the Numata longwing, is a brush-footed butterfly species belonging to the family Nymphalidae, subfamily Heliconiinae.

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 0- above sea level in tall forests.^[1]

Subspecies

Subspecies include:^[1]

• Heliconius numata numata (Surinam, French Guiana, Guyana)
• Heliconius numata silvana (Stoll, 1781) (Surinam, Guyana, Venezuela, Guatemala, Brazil: Pará, Amazonas)
• Heliconius numata ethra (Hübner, [1831]) (Brazil: Espírito Santo)
• Heliconius numata aristiona Hewitson, [1853] (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 butterflies.^[2] Both H. numata and the species of Melinaea it resembles are unpalatable to predators, making this a case of Müllerian mimicry, a mutualistic reinforcement of the same negative signal.^[3]

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) and from the genera Tetrastyli and Dilkea.^[4]

Bibliography

• Brown K. S. 1981 The Biology of Heliconius and Related Genera. Annual Review of Entomology 26, 427-456.
• Cramer, Pieter [1721_1776] 1780. 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.

Notes and References

1. http://www.nic.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/papilionoidea/nymphalidae/heliconiinae/heliconius/index.html Funet - Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and some other life forms
2. News: Wade. Nicholas. A Supergene Paints Wings for Surviving Biological War. 17 August 2011. NY Times. 15 August 2011.
3. Web site: Tiger-patterned H. numata and Melinaea mimicry rings in NE Peru. University College London. 19 August 2011.
4. Brown. Keith S.. Woodruff W. Benson. Adaptive polymorphism associated with multiple Müllerian mimicry in Heliconius numata (Lepid. Nymph.). Biotropica. 1974. 6. 4. 205–228 . 2989666. 10.2307/2989666. 1974Biotr...6..205B .