Cydno Longwing Butterfly Heliconius cydno

The Cydno Longwing Butterfly, also called the Blue and White Longwing, one of the Heliconian family, is native to Central America through to north-western South America. In the right light, the topside has a beautiful midnight blue iridescence. The topside is very similar to that of the related Sapho Longwing (see link below) but the underside is totally different.

Male and female have a similar appearance but, in addition to the Sapho (Mulleran mimicry is common among the unpalatable Longwing family), there are a number of subspecies which differ to varying degrees and there is also a stable hybrid race (with a Postman species) in Colombia given its own species - Heliconius heurippa.

In common with other Heliconian butterflies, adults not only drink nectar but also eat pollen which improves their lifespan from days to weeks.

The longwing butterfly above looks like the Cydno with only a narrow white band on the forewing and a "piano key" edging on the hind wing. It is the Alithea subspecies Heliconius cydno alithea from Ecuador west of the Andes, the most southerly point of the Cydno's range. (There are versions of H. sapho and H. eleuchia from western Ecuador which look similar, including the piano key edging - Mulleran mimicry.)