Heliconius charithonia, the zebra longwing or zebra heliconian, is a species of butterfly belonging to the subfamily Heliconiinae of the family Nymphalidae.

charithonia are thought to be monandrous; females rarely participate in more than one mating per lifetime. UV rhodopsins in the eye help them to distinguish between 3-OHK yellow pigments, or ultraviolet colors, and other yellow pigments, which to the human eye is indistinguishable. The most I have ever seen were down at Pettigrew State Park and Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, where pawpaw is the dominant tree in the understory.

A few weeks after they were declared internationally endangered, here a monarch butterfly has met its end in my yard. Here’s the thing: If I see a dead monarch in my yard, it’s because I have habitat for monarchs in my yard. Lucid, subconscious, introverted, and taking B from Montreal to Los Angeles, Butterflies, Zebras, Moonbeams is an intimate perspective on the life of making music.

UV Photoreceptors and UV-Yellow Wing Pigments in Heliconius Butterflies Allow a Color Signal to Serve Both Mimicry and Intraspecific Communication".If a second male appears, he fends off other males by opening his wings while he copulates, rather than attempting to mate with the female himself by inserting his abdomen. Lack of Genetic Differentiation among Widely Spaced Subpopulations of a Butterfly with Home Range Behaviour".