Heliconius erato (Linnaeus, 1758)

Common Name:
Erato Lonwing

Natural History:

About 30 subspecies of H. erato are registered in the Neotropics (Lamas, 2004). The  color of the wings is in different regions.

The adult can live more than 8 months  and occur in all types of habitat. These butterflies fly in search of flowers for gather nectar and pollen (Marigo & Otero, 1992). Butterflies Heliconius use pollen as a source of amino acids and proteins that are important in reproductive biology and longevity of this genus (Gilbert, 1972).

 Another interesting aspect is the formation of "bedrooms" - groups of more than 20 individuals in the same branch. This behavior also shown in butterfly garden or greenhouses (Berti Filho & Cerignoni, 2010).

Distribution:
Argentina; Bolivia; Brasil; Colombia; Ecuador; Guyane française; México; Panamá; Perú; Suriname; Venezuela

Feeding Adult:

Nectar and pollen

Feeding Caterpillars:

In Brazil are recorded as plant-host several species of Passiflora according compiled by Beccaloni et al. (2008).

Passifloraceae: Passiflora sp., Passiflora actinia, Passiflora alata, Passiflora auriculata, Passiflora caerulea, Passiflora capsularis, Passiflora edulis, Passiflora elegans, Passiflora glauscencens ?, Passiflora jileki, Passiflora miersii, Passiflora misera, Passiflora morifolia, Passiflora mucronata, Passiflora organensis, Passiflora pohlii, Passiflora rhamnifolia, Passiflora rubra, Passiflora sidaefolia, Passiflora suberosa, Passiflora tricuspis, Passiflora trifasciata, Passiflora truncata, Passiflora vespertilio.

Dilkea spp. are recorded as a host-plant in Colombia.

Color:
cream, black, orange, white

Habitat:
forest edge, forest, open, urban

Publications:

Beccaloni G.W, Viloria A.L., Hall S.K., Robinson G.S. (2008):

Catalogue of the hostplants of the Neotropical butterflies. Book., London, S.E.A., Ribes, CYTED, Natural History Museum, IVIC: 1-536

Lamas G. (2004):

Atlas of neotropical Lepidoptera - Checklist: Part 4A Hesperioidea - Papilionoidea. Book.: 1-439

Berti Filho E., Cerignoni J.A. (2010):

Borboletas. Book., Piracicaba, FEALQ: 1-94

Gilbert L.E. (1972):

Pollen feeding and reproductive biology of Heliconius butterflies (fat body/nitrogenous compounds/reproductive strategy). Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci.. 69 (6): 1403-1407