Florida Nature Pictures
Butterflies

Zebra Longwing Butterfly Life Cycle
Heliconius charitonius

This is the caterpillar of the Zebra Longwing Butterfly.
I believe its a third instar.
The spines look dangerous but its actually safe to touch with bare hands.
I dont have a picture of the eggs yet but they are very similar to the
eggs of the Gulf Fritillary Butterfly.

The Zebra Longwing Caterpillars host plant is Passion Vine.
This one was found on my Passiflora suberosa Passion Vine commonly known as Corky Stem Passionvine.

Here, my caterpillar has formed its Chrysalis or Pupa.
It looks like a dead leaf.

This is another chrysallis that was just formed and has not dried hard yet.
Looks like a soft jelly.

After about 2 weeks, the butterfly is ready to emerge.
These pictures are from the day before she emerged.
You can see the wing colors and patterns through the pupa.

Here she is drying her wings before flight. 6/2010

Here are some pictures of another Zebra Butterfly drying its wings.
On the first one you can see the extra fluid being released.
This is the fluid it uses to expand the wings. Any excess is excreted.

Looks like an alien on closeup !

Finally, wings fully dried and the Zebra Longwing Butterfly is ready for flight.

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