Isabella's longwing facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Isabella's longwing |
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The Isabella's longwing (scientific name: Eueides isabella) is a beautiful type of butterfly. It's also sometimes called the Isabella's heliconian. This butterfly is part of a large family of butterflies known as nymphalids.
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About the Isabella's Longwing
The Isabella's longwing is a fairly large butterfly. Its wings can spread out from about 65 to 90 millimeters (which is about 2.5 to 3.5 inches) wide.
What it Looks Like
The top side of its wings is mostly dark brown. It has bright orange stripes and yellowish markings near the edges of its front wings. The underside of the wings looks quite similar to the top. However, if you look closely at the edges of its back wings, you'll see a row of small blue spots.
Life Cycle
These butterflies are active all year long in their warm, tropical homes. They can even fly around when it's not very bright outside.
The caterpillars of the Isabella's longwing are white and black. They are covered in long, black spines. These caterpillars like to live together in groups. They mostly eat the leaves of certain passionflower plants, like Passiflora platyloba and Passiflora ambigua.
Where it Lives
You can find the Isabella's longwing butterfly in many places. Its home ranges from Mexico all the way down to the Amazon basin in South America. It also lives in the West Indies, which are islands in the Caribbean Sea.
Habitat
This butterfly prefers to live in rainforests. It often stays high up in the canopy, which is the top layer of trees in the forest. You can find them from sea level up to about 1,500 meters (about 4,900 feet) above sea level.
Different Types of Isabella's Longwing
Just like people from different parts of the world might look a little different, butterflies of the same species can also have slight variations depending on where they live. These variations are called subspecies. Here are a few examples of where different subspecies of the Isabella's longwing can be found:
- E. i. isabella lives in French Guiana, Suriname, and Trinidad.
- E. i. arquata is found in Colombia.
- E. i. cleobaea lives in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Central America.
- E. i. eva can be found in Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.
- E. i. hippolinus lives in Peru.
Images for kids
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E. i. isabella - MHNT
See also
In Spanish: Eueides isabella para niños
