Heliconiinae (the Heliconians) 



us that birds and other animals observed by him invariably re- 

 fused to eat these butterflies, although they swarm in the forests ; 

 and he vainly endeavored to induce a monkey which was very 

 fond of insects to eat them, the creature revealing by his grimaces 

 that they were extremely distasteful to him. Mr. Wallace believes 

 their immunity from attack is owing to a " strong, pungent, semi- 

 aromatic, or medicinal odor, which seems to pervade all the juices 

 of their system." 



Genus HELICONIUS, Latreille 



The description of the subfamily applies to the genus sufficiently 

 well to obviate the necessity of a more particular description, as 

 there is but a single species in our fauna. 



(i) Heliconius charitonius, Linnaeus, Plate VIII, Fig. 5, $ 

 (The Yellow-barred Heliconian; The Zebra). 



This insect is a deep black, the fore wings crossed by three 

 bands of yellow: one near the apex; another running from the 

 middle of the costa to the middle of the outer margin; a third 

 running along the lower edge of the cell, and bending at an 

 obtuse angle from the point where the first median nervule 

 branches toward the outer angle, at its outer extremity followed 

 by a small yellow dot. The hind wings are crossed by a some- 

 what broad band of yellow running from the inner margin near 

 the base toward the outer angle, which it does not reach, and by 

 a submarginal curved band of paler yellow spots, gradually 

 diminishing in size from the inner margin toward the outer angle. 

 There are also a number of small twinned whitish spots on the 

 margin of the hind wing near the anal angle. The body is black, 

 marked with yellow spots and lines; on the under side both 

 wings are touched with crimson at their base, and the hind wings 

 have some pale pinkish markings near the outer angle. 



The caterpillar feeds upon the passion-flower. The chrysalis, 

 which is dark brown, has the power when disturbed of emitting 

 a creaking sound as it wriggles about, a property which is re- 

 ported to be characteristic of all the insects in the genus. This 

 butterfly is found in the hotter portions of the Gulf States, and is 

 rather abundant in Florida, in the region of the Indian River and 

 on the head waters of the St. Johns. It ranges southward all 

 over the lowlands of Mexico, Central America, and the Antilles. 



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