Heliconius charithonia, the zebra longwing or zebra heliconian, is a species of butterfly belonging to the subfamily Heliconiinae of the family Nymphalidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1767 12th edition of Systema Naturae. The boldly striped black and white wing pattern is aposematic, warning off predators. It is the state butterfly of Florida.
Heliconius charithonia
H. c. simulator Jamaica
H. c. ramsdeni Cuba
H. c. ramsdeni Cuba
The Heliconiinae, commonly called heliconians or longwings, are a subfamily of the brush-footed butterflies. They can be divided into 45–50 genera and were sometimes treated as a separate family Heliconiidae within the Papilionoidea. The colouration is predominantly reddish and black, and though of varying wing shape, the forewings are always elongated tipwards, hence the common name.
Male of the silver-washed fritillary (Argynnis paphia), type species of Argynnis and the Argynnini
Well-known tawny coaster of the Acraeini presently goes by the scientific name Acraea terpsicore.
Heliconiini caterpillars: Julia heliconian (Dryas iulia) (left) and zebra longwing (Heliconius charithonia)
Cruiser butterfly Vindula arsinoe of the Vagrantini