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Postman Butterfly

Heliconius Melpomene

Photo by sttweets
Published on Project Noah
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Field Notes

Description:

The Postman Butterfly, Common Postman, or simply Postman (Heliconius melpomene) is one of the Heliconiine butterflies found from Mexico to northern South America. Several species in the genus have very similar markings and looks and are difficult to distinguish.

Habitat:

Butterfly garden

Reference Links:

Heliconius melpomene

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (4)
sttweets
@bayucca, I'll go over all my images and see whether I can find the details you describe. Thanks for pointing them out!
bayucca
From the dorsal view you have NO chance to separate them, although sometimes Erato has a more slim white stripe than Melpomene. You need a ventral shot to separate them and then it is easy: Melpomene has 3 red spots whereas Erato has 4 spots. In Erato the white strip is followong the whole forewing whereas in Melpomene the white stripe is interrupted. Freshly captured Melpomene smells of fried-rice and Erato from Wytch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana).
sttweets
@Bayucca, You might be right, but can you tell what the exact differences are? All information I find says they look similar, but I cannot find any clues on their unique details.
bayucca
Might also be Heliconius erato.

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Photographed
PublishedAugust 25, 2011

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