Doris longwing
The Doris longwing is a rainforest butterfly with long, narrow wings. It comes in several different colour patterns, which is very unusual. Each pattern copies the warning colours of other bad-tasting butterflies that live nearby.
How fast is it?
Fun facts
Different-looking Doris longwings can be found flying in the same area.
Several kinds of bad-tasting butterflies share the same warning colours, so birds learn to avoid them all.
Scientists study its genes to learn how butterflies get their wing patterns.
Females collect pollen from flowers, not just nectar.
It lives from sea level up to 1,200 metres high.
Most asked questions about Doris longwing
?Why does the Doris longwing have different colours?
It comes in several colour forms, and each copies the warning colours of other bad-tasting butterflies nearby.
?What does the Doris longwing eat?
Adults drink nectar and females collect pollen. Caterpillars eat passion flower vines.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Heliconius doris
- Named by
- Linnaeus, 1771
- Group
- Butterflies
- Family
- Nymphalidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Nymphalidae
- Lives on
- North America, South America
- Also known as
- Doris
Where the facts come from
- Heliconius doris (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Hans Hillewaert. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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