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Heliconius hecale


Heliconius hecale
Photo Information
Copyright: Thijs van Balen jr (Pentaxfriend) Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 462 W: 23 N: 1394] (5475)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2008-06-26
Categories: Insects
Camera: Pentax K10D, Sigma EX APO Macro 180 mm F/3.5 IF, ISO 200, 72mm B+W Skylight KR1,5
Exposure: f/8, 1/100 seconds
Details: Tripod: Yes (Fill) Flash: Yes
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2008-06-29 6:11
Viewed: 413
Points: 24
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Suborder: Ditrysia
Division: Rhopalocera
Superfamily: Papilionoidea
Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Heliconiinae
Genus: Heliconius
Species: H. hecale
Binomial name: Heliconius hecale


Heliconius hecale (synoniem: Philaethria hecale) is een soort vlinder, die voorkomt van Mexico tot Peru. De vlinder komt zowel voor in open weilanden als in tropische regenwouden.

De vrouwtjes leggen hun eieren op de passiebloemsoorten Passiflora auriculata, Passiflora oerstedii, Passiflora platyloba en Passiflora vitifolia, de waardplanten voor de rupsen. De eieren doen er drie tot negen dagen over om uit te komen. Het larvale stadium duurt twee tot drie weken, waarin de rupsen vier keer vervellen. Daarna verpoppen de rupsen. Binnen acht tot twaalf dagen ontpoppen de volwassen vlinders.

De vlinders voeden zich met nectar van planten uit de geslachten Lantana, Psiguria en Gurania.


The longwing butterflies have unusually long lifespans and high fecundity rates, which largely result from their augmented diet. Instead of surviving on food stores from the larval stage or solely sipping flower nectar, adult longwing butterflies are avid pollen eaters. These trait make them eminently suitable for butterfly farming and butterfly gardening. Also, Adult Longwings may live for several months, much longer than most butterflies.

The longwing butterflies are also known as Heliconians. They are brightly colored butterflies with long forewings. Once placed in their own family, they are now considered closely related to the fritillaries. Larvae of most longwings feed on passion vines, and this host plant imparts noxious chemicals to the larvae which are carried over to the adult butterflies. This relationship is identical to the monarch butterflies' reliance on its host plant, milkweed, for defense. Predators find these chemicals distasteful and avoid eating the butterflies.

Within the butterfly habitat at the Notebaert Nature Museum resides a family of butterflies called Longwings (Heliconius). During the day, these active butterflies entertain guests as they fly from flower to flower but little do guests know that each evening, the Longwings participate in another fascinating behavior known as communal roosting.

Circadian communal roosting in butterflies occurs when a number of butterflies gather to rest for the night, typically on a single branch. These communal roosters can be quite numerous and can consist of single specie or a variety of species. Each evening, the air around the roosting site fills with butterflies as they fly back and forth and work to find an open spot on the roost. The whole process takes about an hour to complete because the new arrivals tend to agitate the butterflies that perched earlier. Unless the roosting site is disturbed, the same butterflies will visit that spot night after night. Strength in numbers is one of the benefits of communal roosting for Longwings. Predators dislike the taste of Longwing butterflies, so if a predator eats from the roost it will quickly learn not to do it again, saving the group.
Butterflies have been revered by mankind since before the dawn of recorded history. They are among the most fascinating and beautiful animals; even people who care not for insects in general usually have an affection for these winged wonders. They live nearly everywhere -- from gardens and forests and mountains to acid bogs and frozen arctic tundra. Almost 700 of the world's 10 - 20,000 species live in North America north of Mexico. The butterflies pictured here are captive, live butterflies. Live butterfly exhibits have become very popular in the United States, for obvious reasons. Children love butterflies, adults love butterflies and museums find them easy to raise and maintain - everybody wins. This happy circumstance is also good for the wild butterflies - people who used to go into the rain forest and capture live butterflies, or plunder their eggs and chrysalises now can be set to work on butterfly farms, thereby sparing our wild populations, and providing much needed jobs for many impoverished regions.

Source

this picture has been taken at Vlinders aan de Vliet
vanderschelden, GLEM, Amadeo, uleko, nglen, Ken52, fartash has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • GLEM Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 524 W: 87 N: 693] (5739)
  • [2008-06-29 6:54]

hi Thijs
very nice macro shot. I like management composition, with sweat colors and blur BG.

tfs
gl

Hola Thijs, excelente trabajo, una toma con acertada y atractiva composición, buen detalle, luz y tonos de color agradables y naturales. Buen macro, saludos.

  • Great 
  • siggi Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 277 W: 3 N: 738] (2646)
  • [2008-06-29 8:00]

Hello Thijs,
Excellent macro.Sharp image with great details and very nice green background.Colors and light are excellent.
Best regards,
Siggi

Hi Thijs,
extraordinary butterfly image. simply superb. i thought of posting my butterfly today, having second thoughts. composition, colors, details and the butterfly ifself is superb. your concern and love for butterflies reflects in your comments. TFS.
nagraj.v

  • Great 
  • uleko Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2459 W: 168 N: 7421] (23442)
  • [2008-06-29 8:24]

Hello Thijs,
A very beautiful composition showing this lovely Heliconius butterfly in a fine pose at the tip of the leaf. Great sharpness and beautiful light and colours. Excellent work!
TFS and regards, Ulla

Hekllo Thijs,

What a great shot of this beautiful butterfly balancing precariously on a leaf. You have captured some unusual details, the most obvious of which is the rolled proboscis.

Excellent colours and composition.

Kind regards,
Bev :-)

Hi Thijs,
beautifull image, great composition, all is OK. well done
cheers
Adrian

  • Great 
  • nglen Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1989 W: 5 N: 5528] (20896)
  • [2008-06-29 12:10]

Hi Thijs. This is a fine close up of this beautiful looking butterfly. The detail and colours are spot on. A good POV. well done interesting notes to go with the picture. well done TFS.
Nick..

  • Great 
  • deud Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 500 W: 2 N: 466] (2123)
  • [2008-06-30 4:08]

outstanding presentation! great composition, colors, focus, details, light, supporting note. tfs

  • Great 
  • Ken52 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 663 W: 98 N: 1260] (4179)
  • [2008-07-03 14:37]

Outstanding pose in this beautiful composition. Excellent detail and sharpness. Precise focus with good wing detail. BRAVO!

Hello Thijs
Very intesring spieces to shoot,
Perfect focusing,exposure and BG.Welldone.

Regards
Fartash

Thijs,
Ik prefereer altijd 'zonder fash'. Maar hier is de impact wel klein. Mooi gedaan...
Bedankt
Annick

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