Tiger Longwing Butterfly, Costa Rica by David Whited

Tiger Longwing Butterfly, Costa Rica

David Whited

Tiger Longwing Butterfly, Costa Rica

Digital photography

Inv: MM-1591

The Tiger Longwing (*Heliconius hecale*), also known as the Hecale Longwing, is a strikingly patterned tropical butterfly with elongated, narrow forewings marked by bold orange-yellow and black tiger-like stripes, a pattern that serves as a warning to predators of its toxicity, since the caterpillars feed on passionflower vines and sequester toxic compounds that persist into adulthood; found in humid lowland forests, forest edges, and clearings from Mexico through Central America and into parts of South America, adults have a notably long lifespan for butterflies (often several months) thanks to a unique ability to feed on pollen in addition to nectar, which provides amino acids that support extended reproduction, and they are known for slow, distinctive gliding flight and gathering communally at night roosts.