Florida State Butterfly: Zebra Longwing

1996, the Florida Legislature and Governor Chiles designated the Zebra Longwing (Heliconius charithonia) also known as the Zebra Heliconian as the State butterfly for Florida.

Easy to identify with its long wings and creamy yellow zebra stripes, this butterfly is certainly a favorite in the MOSI gardens. Zebra Longwing and other Heliconians host on passionvines. Instead of laying their eggs singly on the plant, Zebra Longwing females can be found laying their eggs in groups on the newest growth of the passion vines. The eggs are bright yellow and are generally found in clusters from just a few to several dozen.

The larvae of this species are bright white and with rows of branching black spikes that make it difficult for predators to swallow the caterpillars. Zebra Longwing chrysalis resemble a curled, dead leaf and have a section of reflective silver spots on their pupae which mimics water droplets caught on a stationary object.

The adult butterfly is a member of the Nymphalidae or brush-footed butterfly family and only appear to have 4 legs. The front two legs are very tiny and are located near the butterfly’s head. Zebra Longwing butterflies and a few other closely related species are fairly long lived for butterflies thank to their very specific and peculiar diets.

Strange Behavior

Eating Pollen: Most butterflies live entirely on nectar which is a sugary water substance found inside flowers. This nectar is the nutritional equivalent of a human attempting to subsist on on sugary soda. Although it is high in calories to power the butterfly through its short life-cycle, it is low in nutrients. Zebra Longwing butterflies collect pollen on the outside of their proboscis and excrete stomach acids through the proboscis onto the gathered pollen. After the process of external digestion is complete, the Zebra Longwing drinks down the liquefied pollen which is rich in nutrients. This special diet allows the Zebra Longwing butterfly to live six to nine months as an adult butterfly.

Trap-Lining: Zebra Longwings have been observed to visit the same flowers each day in the same order. This behavior of visiting the same reliable nectar sources has also been observed in birds such as hummingbirds. Trap-lining is named for the similarity of this behavior with a hunter checking their traps in a particular order.

Pupal Mating: Male Zebra Heliconians can detect the pheromones of a female even when she is still in her chrysalis. Males will wait by the chrysalis, sometimes in group for the female to be ready to emerge. Less patient males will even break through the pupal case to mate with the female before she ecloses (emerges) from the chrysalis. After mating the males apply a chemical to the females abdomen that helps to repel other male butterflies and discourage further mating, insuring that the offspring of the female will carry forward the genes of the male butterfly with whom she mated.

Roosting in Groups: At night, Zebra Longwings gather into groups to roost for the night. These groups may range from a few individuals to 25 or 30 individuals in the wild.

What’s in a name?: Heliconian means “of or pertaining to Helicon” which is a river in Greece once said to have run entirely above ground but later partially running below ground. Mythology tells us that the river partially sank below the earth when the maenads, followers of Dionysus, attempted to wash their hands of the blood of Orpheus after murdering him and the river wanted no part in their cleansing themselves of such manslaughter. Charithonia derives from the Charites or Graces who were Greek goddesses of fertility and nature. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1767.