Heliconius doris
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~60%
Heliconius doris, the Doris longwing or Doris is a species of butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is known for being a polymorphic species which participates in various Müllerian mimicry rings throughout Central America and the Amazon rainforest. It is a species of special interest in biological science for the genetic basis and role of polymorphism (biology) in ecology and evolution.
It is commonly found from sea level to 1200 metres in forest clearings. The larvae primarily feed on granadilla species. Adults feed on nectar from Lantana flowers, with the females also collecting pollen from Psiguria and Psychotia flowers.
Species info Archived 2011-05-14 at the Wayback... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pico Bonito National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 2 | Piedras Blancas National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 4 | Podocarpus National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 5 | Soberanía National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 6 | Arenal Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 7 | Yasuní National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 8 | Corcovado National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 9 | Tambopata National Reserve | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 10 | Farallones de Cali National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 11 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 12 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Doris Longwing sighting in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, based on 41 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 17th most-seen of the 302 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July and August
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Doris Longwing in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January and February, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Doris Longwing sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
6th of 12
Of the 12 parks where we can rate Doris Longwing sightings, Arenal Volcano National Park ranks 6th at about 10%. The best odds are in Pico Bonito National Park (Honduras, about 30%), Piedras Blancas National Park (Costa Rica, about 30%) and Manu National Park (Peru, about 20%).
Same genus: Heliconius
The closest relatives of the Doris Longwing that you can see in Arenal Volcano National Park (genus Heliconius, Longwings and Heliconians) are Tiger Longwing (about 10%), Cydno Longwing (about 10%) and Ismenius Tiger (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Doris Longwing is recorded against all the insects logged in Arenal Volcano National Park (41 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
