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Nymphalidae the Cydno Longwing Is Considered an Oligophagous Insect

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Nymphalidae the Cydno Longwing Is Considered an Oligophagous Insect Cydno longwing (Heliconius cydno) Photography and Editing by Ronald Vargas C. Order: Lepidoptera Family: Nymphalidae The cydno longwing is considered an oligophagous insect since the host plants are restricted to the genus Passiflora. Its main feature is the white coloration on its wings that resemble an eagle. This coloration is a Mullerian mimicry that shares with two other species of the same genus: Heliconius eleuchia and H. sapho, the latter is very similar and easy to confuse with H. cydno, but H. sapho is restricted to mature forests and usually flies over the forest canopy, while H. cydno frequents open areas such as gardens, secondary forests, forest clearings and riparian forests. This butterfly is found from Mexico to Ecuador, in areas associated with tropical forests from sea level to 2000 m.a.s.l. H. cydno is considered a pest in commercial passion fruit plantations as they massively lay eggs on the leaves of these plants and the larvae eat all the leaves, leaving the vines bare. The cydno longwing is widely used in commercial butterfly farms due to its easy adaptation to them. Mariposa de la maracuyá (Heliconius cydno) Fotografía y edición por Ronald Vargas C. Orden: Lepidoptera Familia: Nymphalidae A la mariposa de la maracuyá se le considera un insecto oligófago pues las plantas hospederas se restringen al género Passiflora. Su característica principal es la coloración blanca en sus alas que asemejan un águila. Esta coloración es un mimetismo mulleriano que comparte con otras dos especies del mismo género; Heliconius eleuchia y H. sapho, esta última es muy similar y fácil de confundir con H. cydno, pero H. sapho está restringida a bosques maduros y sobrevuela casi siempre el dosel del bosque, mientras que H. cydno frecuenta áreas abiertas como jardines, bosques secundarios, claros en el bosque y bosques ribereños. Se le encuentra desde México hasta Ecuador, en zonas asociadas con bosques tropicales desde el nivel del mar hasta los 2000 m.s.n.m. H. cydno es considerada una plaga en plantaciones comerciales de maracuyá pues ovopositan masivamente en las hojas de estas plantas y las larvas se comen todas las hojas dejando las lianas desnudas. La mariposa de la maracuyá es muy utilizada en mariposarios comerciales por su fácil adaptación a estos. Leach orchids (Stelis spp) Photography and Editing by Ronald Vargas C. Order: Asparagales Family: Orchidaceae Epiphytic orchid with more than 500 species distributed throughout the humid tropical areas of America. Most of the species have tiny flowers that are usually conspicuous for their colorations and are found in several bunches the plant produces several times a year. The name Stelis comes from the Greek and means mistletoe, due to the epiphytic behavior of this plant. Some species of Stelis have photosensitive flowers and only open during the day. Several species of this genus are considered of great value to collectors and lovers of orchids in gardens. Orquídeas stelis (Stelis spp) Fotografía y edición por Ronald Vargas C. Orden: Asparagales Familia: Orchidaceae Orquídea epifita con más de 500 especies distribuidas por todas las áreas tropicales húmedas de América. La mayoría de las especies tienen diminutas flores casi siempre llamativas por sus coloraciones y se encuentran en varios grupos que la planta produce varias veces al año. El nombre Stelis viene del griego y significa muérdago, por el comportamiento epifito de esta planta. Algunas especies de Stelis tienen flores fotosensitivas y solo se abren solo durante el día. Varias especies de este género son consideradas de gran valor para los coleccionistas y amantes de orquídeas en jardines. .
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