The Zebra Longwing Butterfly (Heliconius Charithonia) is a beautiful butterfly designated to the state of Florida in 1996. The Zebra Longwing is a neotropical butterfly that occurs in extreme southern portions of the United States southward through Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies of South America.
Adult Zebra Longwing butterflies have a wingspan of 72 to 100 mm. They fly slowly and gracefully and are not easily startled.
Zebra Longwing butterflies have a reputation for being very intelligent insects. Most butterflies can only sip fluids with their specialized mouthparts, but the Zebra Longwing butterflies take some pollen as well as nectar.
Their Saliva enables them to dissolve the pollen and to take their nutrients. Pollen is very nutritious and rich in proteins, unlike nectar which contains almost no proteins, just sugars. This diet allows the butterflies to prolong their lives and also enables them to continue producing eggs for several months. Most other butterflies live only a few weeks.
