Diet

• Caterpillars feed exclusively on passion-vines (Passifloraceae).

• Females usually lay eggs singly on young shoots, tendrils or growing tips, allowing the newly hatched caterpillars immediate access to tender tissue.

• Adults feed on both nectar and pollen. Pollen is particularly important because its amino acids contribute to egg production and allow adults to live much longer than most butterflies.

Range

• Heliconius erato is a widespread Neotropical butterfly ranging from Mexico through Central America and much of South America, reaching Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and northern Argentina.

• It occurs in Guerrero and the Zihua area, particularly where passion-vines grow in tropical woodland and along forest edges.

Habitat

• The Erato Heliconian favours tropical and subtropical forest, forest edges, secondary woodland, clearings and shaded vegetation where passion-vines are abundant.

• It is particularly common along sunny forest margins and paths through woodland, where flowering plants and its larval food plants occur together.

• Adults often maintain small home ranges and repeatedly use familiar feeding routes between regularly visited flowers.

Description

• The Erato Heliconian is a medium-sized longwing with a wingspan of approximately 67–80 mm.

• The wings are predominantly black. A broad red to pinkish-red band crosses the forewings, while the hindwings have a contrasting yellow or orange-yellow streak along the leading portion.

• The underside is generally similar but somewhat paler. The yellow hindwing marking extends all the way to the wing margin, an especially useful feature for distinguishing H. erato from the very similar Postman (Heliconius melpomene).

• Males and females are similar in appearance, although individuals can vary considerably in colour pattern depending on their geographic population