Heliconius clysonymus
Margarita Beltrán
Characteristics
Early stages: Eggs are yellow and approximately 1.5 x 1 mm (h x w). Females usually place eggs singly on growing shoots of the host plant. Mature larvae have a white body with black and orange spots, and black scoli and yellow head; length is around 1.2 cm. Caterpillars are solitary (Brown, 1981). Pupae are brown with gold spots on the dorsum, the thorax is strongly bowed and has short abdominal spines. The head has long head horns, and the antennae have many short black spines (Brown, 1981; DeVries, 1997).
Adult: In Costa Rica H. clysonymus montanus is distinguished from all other species by the broad red medial band on the hindwing. Forewing length: 37-42 mm (DeVries, 1997).
Geographical Distribution
Heliconius clysonymus is distributed from Costa Rica to North Andes. This map shows an approximate representation of the geographic distribution of this species. The original data used to draw these maps are derived from Brown (1979) which is available at Keith S. Brown Jr. (1979). Ecological Geography and Evolution in Neotropical Forests
Distribution of Heliconius clysonymus and Heliconius hortense. © 2002 Margarita Beltran.
Habits
H. clysonymus occurs from sea level to 2,500 m in cloud forest. Usually individuals fly rapidly and in the lowerstory. The males sit on female pupae a day before emergence, and mating occurs the next morning, before the female has completely eclosed. Adults roost at night in small groups 2-10 m above ground in twigs or tendrils (Brown, 1981).
Host plant: H. clysonymus larvae feed primarily on plants from the genus Passiflora, subgenera Tryphostemmatoides and Plectostemma (Brown, 1981). In Costa Rica H. c. montanus feeds on Passiflora apetala and P. biflora (DeVries, 1997).
References
Brown K. S. 1981 The Biology of Heliconius and Related Genera. Annual Review of Entomology 26, 427-456.
DeVries P. J. 1997 The Butterflies of Costa Rica and Their Natural History, Volume I: Papilionidae, Pieridae, Nymphalidae Princeton University Press, Baskerville, USA.
Latreille P. A. 1817. Insectes de l'Amérique équinoxiale, recueillis pendant le voyage de MM. de Humboldt et Bonpland. Seconde partie. In: Humboldt, A. & A. Bonpland, 1805-1832, Voyage aux régions équinoxiales... Paris, G. Levrault, F. Schoell et Cie. 2(10): 97-138, pls. 35-43.
Title Illustrations
| Scientific Name | Heliconius clysonymus |
|---|---|
| Location | Chiriqui, Panama |
| Specimen Condition | Live Specimen |
| Source | Clysonymus Longwing |
| Source Collection | Neotropical Butterflies |
| Copyright | © 2004 Dan Wade |
| Scientific Name | Heliconius clysonymus |
|---|---|
| Location | Chiriqui, Panama |
| Specimen Condition | Live Specimen |
| Source | Clysonymus Longwing |
| Source Collection | Neotropical Butterflies |
| Copyright | © 2006 Kim Garwood |
About This Page
University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to Margarita Beltrán at
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Heliconius clysonymus .
Authored by
Margarita Beltrán.
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- First online 18 February 2007
- Content changed 12 August 2008
Citing this page:
Beltrán, Margarita. 2008. Heliconius clysonymus . Version 12 August 2008 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Heliconius_clysonymus/72928/2008.08.12 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/
