Heliconius ricini

Heliconius ricini, the ricini longwing, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. It is found from Venezuela and Trinidad to the Guianas and northern Brazil. The habitat consists of savanna-type areas.

Ricini longwing
Dorsal view
Ventral view
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Heliconius
Species:
H. ricini
Binomial name
Heliconius ricini
Synonyms
  • Papilio ricini Linnaeus, 1758
  • Papilio myrti Fabricius, 1775
  • Papilio polyhymnia Shaw, 1806
  • Eueides ricini insulanus Stichel, 1909

Adults have black wings with yellow forewing bands and a broad transverse red stripe on the hindwing.

The larvae feed on Passiflora species from the subgenus Granadilla. Full-grown larvae have a yellow body with black spots and a black head and reach a length of about 8 mm.[2]

Subspecies
  • Heliconius ricini ricini (northern South America)
  • Heliconius ricini insulanus (Stichel, 1909) (Trinidad)

References
  1. Heliconius ricini at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
  2. TOL
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