About Heliconius hortense (Guérin-Méneville)
Heliconius hortense (Guérin-Méneville) has a black base color on the uppersides of its wings, with a vertical white band on the forewings and a horizontal red band on the hindwings. The undersides of the wings are dark brown, with a white band on the forewings and a few red spots at the base of the hindwings. Adult Heliconius hortense feed on pollen and can live up to six months. Females typically lay single yellow eggs on shoots of various host plants, mostly Passiflora species; caterpillars of this species feed primarily on these Passiflora plants. Heliconius hortense is distributed in eastern and western Mexico, and ranges from Honduras to Ecuador. This species lives in cloud forest habitats at elevations between sea level and 2300 meters.
