Heliconius erato
| Red Postman | |
|---|---|
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| Heliconius erato petiverana | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nymphalidae |
| Genus: | Heliconius |
| Species: | H. erato |
| Binomial name | |
| Heliconius erato (Linnaeus, 1758) |
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| Subspecies | |
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many, see text |
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| Synonyms | |
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The Red Postman (Heliconius erato) is one of about 40 Neotropical species of butterfly belonging to the genus Heliconius. It is also commonly known as the Small Postman, the Red Passion Flower Butterfly, or the Crimson-patched Longwing.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Description
The species is remarkably variable in colour 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 colour forms of Heliconius erato; colour forms are synchronized between the two throughout their common habitats. It is likely the clade containing Heliconius erato radiated first, establishing the wing pattern diversity found in both species of butterfly.[2] Two features found on the underside help to distinguish H. erato from H. melpomene—H. erato has four red dots where the wing attaches to the thorax while H. melpomene has three and the yellowish white stripe on the underside reaches the margin of the hindwing in H. erato but ends early in H. melpomene.[3]
Heliconius erato is up to about 5.5–8 cm (2.2–3.1 in)[4] 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.[5]
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Caterpillar
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Female ovipositing at UFRGS Insectarium, Porto Alegre, Brazil
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Heliconius erato petiveranus
[edit] Origins
A recent study, using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) data sets, places the origins of H. erato at 2.8 million years ago.[6] H. erato also shows clustering of AFLPs by geography revealing that H. erato originated in western South America.
[edit] Subspecies
- H. e. erato (Linnaeus, 1758)
- H. e. phyllis (Fabricius, 1775)
- H. e. cyrbia Godart, 1819
- H. e. demophoon Ménétriés, 1855
- H. e. chestertonii Hewitson, 1872
- H. e. petiverana Doubleday, 1847
- H. e. estrella Bates, 1862
- H. e. hydara Hewitson, 1867
- H. e. guarica Reakirt, 1868
- H. e. notabilis Salvin & Godman, 1868
- H. e. etylus Salvin, 1871
- H. e. venustus Salvin, 1871
- H. e. favorinus Hopffer, 1874
- H. e. lativitta Butler, 1877
- H. e. amazona Staudinger, 1897
- H. e. colombina Staudinger, 1897
- H. e. magnifica Riffarth, 1900
- H. e. amalfreda Riffarth, 1901
- H. e. dignus Stichel, 1923
- H. e. emma Riffarth, 1901
- H. e. microclea Kaye, 1907
- H. e. reductimacula Bryk, 1953
- H. e. adana Turner, 1967
- H. e. fuscombei Lamas, 1976
- H. e. tobagoensis Barcant, 1982
- H. e. lichyi Brown & Fernández, 1985
- H. e. cruentus Lamas, 1998
[edit] References
- ^ Markku Savela. "Heliconius". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. http://www.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/papilionoidea/nymphalidae/heliconiinae/heliconius/. Retrieved February 5, 2011.
- ^ N. S. Flanagan, A. Tobler, A. Davison, O. G. Pybus, D. D. Kapan, S. Planas, M. Linares, D. Heckel & W. O. McMillan (2004). "Historical demography of Müllerian mimicry in the neotropical Heliconius butterflies" (PDF). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 101 (26): 9704–9709. doi:10.1073/pnas.0306243101. PMC 470739. PMID 15210977. http://si-pddr.si.edu/jspui/bitstream/10088/3673/1/Flanagan_et_al.pdf.
- ^ Carrol L. Henderson (2010). "Brush-footed butterfly family (Nymphalidae)". Butterflies, Moths, and Other Invertebrates in Costa Rica. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press. pp. 37–90. ISBN 978-0-292-71966-8. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=gris_x5dnF0C&pg=PA47.
- ^ Carter, David. (2002) Butterflies and Moths. Second American Edition. New York:Dorling Kindersley Ltd. p.163
- ^ James Scott (1992). "Family Nymphalidae: brush-footed butterflies". The Butterflies of North America. Stanford University Press. pp. 227–343. ISBN 9780804720137.
- ^ Swee-Peck Quek, Brian A. Counterman, Priscila Albuquerque de Moura, Marcio Z. Cardoso, Charles R. Marshall, W. Owen McMillan & Marcus R. Kronforst (2010). "Dissecting comimetic radiations in Heliconius reveals divergent histories of convergent butterflies" (PDF). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107 (7365–7370). doi:10.1073/pnas.0911572107. PMC 2867687. PMID 20368448. http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2010/03/31/0911572107.full.pdf.
[edit] External links
Media related to Heliconius erato at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Heliconius erato at Wikispecies
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