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Agraulis vanillae, (Linnaeus, 1758)
This butterfly is in the family nymphalidae and in the sub-family heliconiinae. This one was raised from egg to adult indoors on blue passion flower vine, (Passiflora caerulea). The reason I raised these indoors is because many birds and other animals can eat them, the other reason is to see the complete life cycle of this species. This one was smaller and had more yellow scaling, maybe because i raised them in plastic containers. The butterfly has orange and yellow wings with many black lines and spots.
Semi-urban, Fort Worth, Texas. Raised indoors on blue passion vine, (Passiflora caerulea).
This species can release alkaloids, that are bad tasting compounds found in the host plant. In this case passion vine leaves and laced with some cyanide. the advertise the fact from the bright colors on their wings. They are found in places like Texas and Florida. However, this butterfly’s range can extend from the southern U.S. into parts of Mexico and Central America and sometimes as far as parts of South America. They are also found in Hawaii.
Spotted on Jun 23, 2020
Submitted on Jun 24, 2020
1 Comment
AKA Gulf Frtillary Bitterflies.
The one in the above photo is a female.
I have been raising them from egg to butterfly, then releasing them back onto the white flower passion vine growing outside.