Doris Longwing

Heliconius doris · Butterflies

Doris Longwing, red form

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, 7 February 2026

A Doris Longwing in its red form in the butterfly house at Fairchild, a butterfly of the rainforests of Central and South America where the red, blue and green forms all fly together in one population.

The orange-red rays fanning from the base of the hindwing make it most likely the red form. Unlike most butterfly mimicry, none of the three forms has an obvious model it is copying, which is the odd thing about the species. Heliconius wings are famously thin, and the notch out of the forewing tip here is ordinary wear.

Doris Longwing, blue form

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, 7 February 2026

A Doris Longwing in its blue form in the butterfly house at Fairchild, a butterfly of the rainforests of Central and South America, from Mexico to the Amazon, where all three of its colour forms fly together in the same populations.

One species with three unrelated-looking colour forms - red, green and this blue one - not sorting by region. Why a single species keeps three separate wardrobes isn't fully settled. Unlike most butterfly mimicry, none of the forms has an obvious model it is copying, and a female can lay eggs that hatch into all three.