Heliconius erato

Taxobox
name = Red postman


image_width = 250px
image_caption = "Heliconius erato",
Monsanto Insectarium, St. Louis Zoo
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
classis = Insecta
ordo = Lepidoptera
unranked_familia = Rhopalocera
superfamilia = Papilionoidea
familia = Nymphalidae
subfamilia = Heliconiinae
genus = "Heliconius"
species = "H. erato"
binomial = "Heliconius erato"
binomial_authority = (Linnaeus, 1758)

"Heliconius erato" is a butterfly commonly known under a variety of names, such as the "Red Postman", the "Small Postman", the "Red Passion Flower Butterfly", or the "Crimson-Patched Longwing". It is one of about 40 Neotropical species belonging to the genus "Heliconius". The species is remarkably variable in color and form throughout northern South America, depending on location, and its various appearances can be difficult to distinguish from various other "Heliconius" butterflies such as "Heliconius sara", also known as the Sara Longwing. Particularly hard to distinguish is the related "Heliconius melpomene", or "The Postman", which mimics almost all the color forms of "Heliconius erato"; color forms are synchronized between the two throughout their common habitats. "Heliconius erato" is up to about 5.7 cm (2.25 inches) in wingspan with a jerky unelegance in flight.

Like "Heliconius charitonius", "H. erato" is one of the few butterflies that collects and digests pollen, conferring considerable longevity to the adults (several months). Adults roost in groups, returning to the same location each night. [ Scott, JA. 1986. "The butterflies of North America." Stanford University Press.]

References