Heliconius hortense

Heliconius hortense, the Mexican longwing, Mexican heliconian or mountain longwing, is a heliconiid butterfly.

Mexican longwing
Ventral view
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Heliconius
Species:	H. hortense
Binomial name
Heliconius hortense Guérin, [1844]
Synonyms
Heliconia hortensia Heliconius hertensia

Description

The basic color of the uppersides of the wings is black, with a vertical white band on the forewings and an horizontal red band on the hindwings. The undersides are dark brown, with a white band on the forewings and a few red spots at the base of the hindwings. The adults feed on pollens and live up to six months. Females usually lay yellow eggs singly on shoots of various host plants, mainly Passiflora species, of which caterpillars primarily feed.

Distribution

Heliconius hortense occurs in eastern and western Mexico and from Honduras to Ecuador.^[1][2]

Habitat

This species can be found in cloud forest from sea level to 2300 m.