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| Copyright 2008 Louis Maienza Jr. All rights reserved |
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| The Zebra Longwing is a popular butterfly in butterfly houses across the country. It's no wonder, Zebras have an exceptionally long lifespan. Several months is not uncommon compared to a week or two for most butterflies. |
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| Butterflies are insects which is a surprise to many people. Such a beautiful creature is an insect! Yes, butterflies have six legs. In the case of the Zebra, only four are readily visible. The front pair are mere stubs. Zebras belong to a group called brush-footed butterflies. |
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| Florida is a permanent home to this tropical butterfly. Not many tropical butterflies have permanent homes in the US. |
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| To honor the slow flying Zebra, Florida named it as the state butterfly in 1996. |
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| Did you know that Zebras can digest pollen? Most butterflies live only on flower nectar, but the Zebra lives on both. Some experts believe that the protein rich pollen is responsible for the Zebra's long life. |
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| Did you know that when a Zebra chrysalis is disturbed it often makes a rasping sound? |
| This faint sound can be heard in our Zebra Longwing video. The only known recording. |
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| Passionflowers or passion vines are the host plant for the Zebra and a few other butterflies such as the Gulf Fritillary. This is the only plant that the larvae will eat. And, they are picky about which passion vine they will eat. The one shown on the left is a hybrid and is not suitable for Zebras. Passionflowers are abundant in the tropics although a few have taken root as far north as New England. |
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| The corky stemed passion vine, a favorite host plant, grows wild in Florida. Note the small flowers. It gets its name from the "corky" growth on the stems. Strange but true: Florida has this host plant classified as a weed. |
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| A Zebra egg greatly magnified. Each egg is pin-head sized. The eggs resemble the Gulf Fritillary. You won't know for a couple of days which is which. See Gulf Frittillary page for a clue. Zebra eggs darken as the larva develops. In about four days the larva chews its way out of the egg. The young larva is nearly transparent and light yellow. |
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| A batch of young Zebra larvae eating on passiflora suberosa, a native passion vine in Florida. Soon, the larvae will turn the more familiar white with black spines. |
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| The Zebra Longwing larva. This is how you will most likely see it on passion vines. |
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| In about two weeks the larva is ready to make a chrysalis. It forms a silk pad and then anchors its rear claspers into the pad. After a brief rest, it drops head down, held only by the claspers. Right photo, Zebra larva in the "J" position. Here it hangs waiting to form a chrysalis. Note the slightly brown color. |
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| The Zebra chrysalis hangs from a silk pad. Look closely for the gold mirrors as an identifying mark. Zebra chrysalides resemble the Gulf Fritillary. In about 10 to 14 days the adult emerges. |
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| Two eager males have found a female Zebra and are trying to mate with her before she emerges from the chrysalis |
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| Zebras are tropical butterflies and do not overwinter as many temperate butterflies. Because of this they must live in warm climates such as Florida. |
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| Zebras have a range from South America, Central America, Mexico, parts of the lower coastal Southeast and Florida. Not much of a strayer or migrator, Zebras have on rare occasion been spotted in the Midwest. |
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| The Zebra seems to be somewhat "social" during the evening as dozens collect for the night in a roost. Many of the butterflies return each night to the same roosting location. |
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| Zebras are avoided by predators with their foul taste. Poisons in the passion vines are stored in the body tissues of both the larvae and adults. Warning colors of black and yellow on adults and white body with black branching spines on the larva give predators notice. Some predators have to learn the hard way by tasting either the adult or larva. After this unpleasant experience, they avoid another attempt. |
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| The flight pattern of the Zebra can not be mistaken for any other butterfly. It seems to float more than fly. Perhaps it knows that it is reasonably safe from predators. If needed, the Zebra can quickly shift gears and pickup speed. |
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| When it comes to intelligence, the Zebra is considered one of the "smartest" of butterflies. It can remember the location of host plants and flowers plus its roosting site. |
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| Scientific name: Heliconius charitionius |
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| Learn more about the Zebra Longwing with this video. |
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