Heliconius ricini

Description

Heliconius ricini, the ricini longwing, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. It is found from Venezuela and Trinidad to the Guianas and northern Brazil. The habitat consists of savanna-type areas. Adults have black wings with yellow forewing bands and a broad transverse red stripe on the hindwing. The larvae feed on Passiflora species from the subgenus Granadilla. Full-grown larvae have a yellow body with black spots and a black head and reach a length of about 8 mm.