Stats

Lifespan: A few weeks
Size: Medium
Diet: Herbivore
Activity: Diurnal
Social: Solitary
Biome: Subtropical grassland
Range: The Americas
Movement: Flight
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Warning Colors
Status: Common

About

A vivid orange longwing butterfly with silver-spotted underwings, named for its sweeping migrations across the Gulf of Mexico. Its caterpillars feed exclusively on passionflower vines, sequestering toxins that make adults unpalatable to birds.

Life cycle

1.
egg
A tiny ribbed egg laid on the underside of a host-plant leaf, hatching within days.
2.
caterpillar
A voracious caterpillar feeds and molts through several instars, growing rapidly.
3.
chrysalis
A chrysalis hangs sealed and still while the body remodels into a winged adult.
4.
butterfly
A winged adult with full scales and coloration, ready to fly and mate.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Dione
Species: Dione vanillae