Heliconius demeter

Heliconius demeter
Dorsal view
Ventral view
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Heliconius
Species:	H. demeter
Binomial name
Heliconius demeter Staudinger, 1897
Synonyms
Heliconius demeter f. similis Neustetter, 1931 Heliconius demeter var. bouqueti Nöldner, 1901 Heliconia xanthoceras Oberthür, 1902 Heliconia eueidina Oberthür, 1916 Eueides egeriformis Joicey & Kaye, 1917 Heliconia automatia Oberthür, 1925 Heliconius eratoformis Neustetter, 1931 Eueides eratosignis Joicey & Talbot, 1925

Heliconius demeter, the Demeter longwing, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It was described by Otto Staudinger in 1897. It is found in the Amazon basin, from Guyana to Peru and Bolivia.^[1] The habitat consists of sand forests.

The larvae are gregarious and feed on Dilkea and Mitostemma species. Full-grown larvae have a yellow body with black spots or bands and a black head. They reach a length of about 20 mm.

Etymology

The species is named for the Greek goddess Demeter.^[2]

Subspecies

• H. d. demeter (Peru, Brazil: Amazonas)
• H. d. angeli Neukirchen, 1997 (Peru)
• H. d. beebei Turner, 1966 (Guyana)
• H. d. bouqueti Nöldner, 1901 (French Guiana)
• H. d. eratosignis (Joicey & Talbot, 1925) (Brazil: Mato Grosso)
• H. d. karinae Neukirchen, 1990 (Brazil: Pará)
• H. d. neildi Neukirchen, 1997 (Ecuador)
• H. d. tambopata Lamas, 1985 (Peru)
• H. d. terrasanta Brown & Benson, 1975 (Brazil: Pará)
• H. d. titan Neukirchen, 1995 (Brazil: Amazonas)
• H. d. turneri Brown & Benson, 1975 (Brazil: Amazonas)
• H. d. ucayalensis H. & R. Holzinger, 1975 (Peru)
• H. d. ulysses Brown & Benson, 1975 (Bolivia)
• H. d. zikani Brown & Benson, 1975 (Brazil: Amazonas)

References