heliconius hecale perched leaf the butterfly garden fort worth botanic gardens

navigate by keyword : side view heliconius hecale perched leaf butterfly garden fort worth botanic gardens texas tiger longwing golden heliconian subspecies coloration coevolved member genus erato warning predators inedibility mullerian mimicry greek mythology old woman gave shelter theseus capture marathonian bull angled

Heliconius hecale perched on a leaf in the butterfly garden of the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens. Royalty Free Stock Photo

Pictured is a side angled view of Heliconius hecale perched on a leaf in the butterfly garden of the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens in Fort Worth, Texas. It is also known as the tiger longwing, Hecale longwing, golden longwing or golden heliconian. The are many subspecies. Its coloration coevolved with another member of the genus, Heliconius erato as a warning to predators of its inedibility, and example of Mullerian mimicry. In Greek mythology, Hecale was an old woman to gave shelter to Theseus on his way to capture the Marathonian Bull.