Eueides isabella
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Eueides isabella, the Isabella's longwing or Isabella's heliconian, is a species of nymphalid butterfly, belonging to the Heliconiinae subfamily. Eueides isabella is a large butterfly with a wingspan of 65–90 millimetres (2.6–3.5 in). The uppersides of the wings is dark brown, with orange bands and yellowish markings on the edges of the forewings. The undersides of the wings are quite similar to the uppersides, but the edges of the hindwings show a series of small blue spots.
The flight period extends to the whole year in the tropical habitat. They are active even in low light. Caterpillars are white and black covered by long black spines. They are gregarious and they primarily feed on Passiflora platyloba and Passiflora ambigua.
This species can be found from Mexico to the Amazon basin and the West Indies. Eueides isabella lives in the rainforest where it remains in the canopy. It can be found from sea level to about 1500 m above sea level. E. i. isabella (French Guiana, Suriname, Trinidad) Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iguaçu National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Iguazú National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 3 | Lago de Yojoa | 🇭🇳 Honduras |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Isabella's Longwing sighting in San José on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 210th most-seen of the 239 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July–August and October–November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Isabella's Longwing in San José on a given day, against under 5% in September and December–June, the lowest months. Those are among San José's wettest months, with about 220 mm of rain a month against 20 mm in February.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Isabella's 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.
7th of 7
Of the 7 cities where we can rate Isabella's Longwing sightings, San José ranks 7th at under 5%. The best odds are in Porto Alegre (Brazil, about 10%), Curitiba (Brazil, about 10%) and São Paulo (Brazil, about 10%).
Same family: Nymphalidae
The closest relatives of the Isabella's Longwing that you can see in San José (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are Monarch (about 30%), Banded Peacock (about 30%) and Rusty-Tipped Page (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Isabella's Longwing is recorded against all the insects logged in San José (5 verified sightings), 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.
