Heliconius sapho

Sapho Longwing
Dorsal view
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Heliconius
Species: H. sapho
Binomial name
Heliconius sapho
(Drury, 1782)[1]
Synonyms
  • Papilio sapho Drury, 1782
  • Heliconius sappho[sic] Westwood, 1837
  • Heliconia leuce Doubleday, 1847
  • Heliconia hewitsoni Hewitson, 1875

The Sapho Longwing (Heliconius sapho) is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family. It was described by Dru Drury in 1782. It is found from Mexico southward to Ecuador.

Name

Drury left no notes on the origin of the name, but the spelling (and the naming conventions of the time) suggests it derives from the mythological Queen Sapho, not the historical poet Sappho. Subsequent authors, from Westwood onwards, have unjustifiably "corrected" the spelling.

Description

Ventral view

Upper Side. Antennae black. Eyes brown. Thorax and abdomen black. Wings mazarine blue; the anterior ones having a white band crossing them from the middle of the anterior edges to the lower corners; the posterior edged with a white border, intersected by the blue tendons of the wings.

Under Side. Palpi grey. Breast and abdomen black, streaked with white. Wings black where they are blue on the upper side, with the same white markings; but next the body are adorned with beautiful red streaks, ending in points resembling rays issuing from it. Margins of the wings entire. Wing-span 3¼ inches (82 mm). [2]

Subspecies

References

  1. Heliconius sapho, funet.fi
  2. Drury, Dru (1837). Westwood, John, ed. Illustrations of Exotic Entomology. 3. p. 53. pl. XXXVIII.


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