''Heliconius pardalinus'' is a

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

of the family

Nymphalidae The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea, they are usually medium-sized to large butterflies. Most species ha ...

native to South America.''Heliconius pardalinus''. (n.d.). Tree of Life Web Project (ToL). Retrieved April 21, 2024, from http://tolweb.org/Heliconius_pardalinus/72902

Description

The yellow eggs are long and wide. The white caterpillar has black spots. The wingspan of the orange-red wings with brown spots is .

Hybrids

Hybridisation of ''Heliconius pardalinus'' and ''

Heliconius melpomene ''Heliconius melpomene'', the postman butterfly, common postman or simply postman, is a brightly colored, geographically variable butterfly species found throughout Central and South America. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 ...

'' resulted in the hybrid speciation of '' Heliconius elevatus''.A new butterfly species was created by two species hybridising 200,000 years ago. (2024, April 17). Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB). Retrieved April 21, 2024, from https://leibniz-lib.de/en/2024-04-17-new-butterfly-species/

Etymology

The specific epithet ''pardalinus'' means leopard-spotted.Dictionary of Botanical Epithets. (o. D.). Retrieved 24 April 2024, von https://botanicalepithets.net/dictionary/dictionary.138.html

Distribution

''Heliconius pardalinus'' occurs in Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia.

Ecology

Herbivory

''Heliconius pardalinus'' feeds on ''

Passiflora ''Passiflora'', known also as the passion flowers or passion vines, is a genus of about 550 species of flowering plants, the type genus of the family Passifloraceae. ''Passiflora'' species are widely cultivated for their striking flowers, fla ...

''.

Habitat

It inhabits riparian forests at an elevation of up to above sea level.

References

pardalinus Nymphalidae of South America Lepidoptera of Peru Lepidoptera of Colombia Lepidoptera of Brazil Lepidoptera of Ecuador Lepidoptera of Bolivia Fauna of the Amazon Butterflies described in 1862 Taxa named by Henry Walter Bates {{Heliconiinae-stub