Zebra Longwing Butterfly

Heliconius charithonia — the zebra longwing — is one of the most extraordinary butterflies in genus Heliconius and the official state butterfly of Florida (designated by the state legislature in 1996). The species is widespread across the Neotropics from southern Texas through Florida and the Caribbean to South America. Adults are 7-10 cm wingspan with elongated wings (typical of Heliconius longwings) carrying bold black-and-pale-yellow striped patterning that resembles a small zebra. Like other Heliconius species, the zebra longwing is one of the only butterflies on Earth that eats POLLEN — adults visit Psiguria and other Cucurbitaceae flowers, gather pollen on the proboscis, regurgitate saliva to liquefy it, and drink the resulting amino-acid-rich liquid. The pollen-protein nutrition allows adults to live 6-9 months (vs. 2-4 weeks for typical butterflies). The species is also famous for two extraordinary behaviors. First, COMMUNAL ROOSTING: large groups of zebra longwings (5-60 butterflies) roost together every night, returning to the same roost site (a specific tree branch, vine cluster, or palm frond) over weeks or months. The roosts function as predator-protection aggregations and as social hubs for the long-lived adults. Second, PUPAL MATING: males of the species patrol pupae of conspecific females and copulate with the females WHILE they are still emerging from the pupa — sometimes before the female has fully extracted from the pupal case. The behavior is one of the most-debated mating systems in evolutionary biology — proponents argue it represents extreme male-male competition (the first male to find a freshly-emerged female monopolizes her future reproduction), while critics consider the behavior a form of sexual coercion. The species is also chemically defended (sequesters cyanogenic compounds from larval Passiflora host plants) and bird-aversive — the bold zebra striping is honest aposematic warning.