Heliconius demeter

Description

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. 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.