Eueides isabella
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
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 |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Isabella's Longwing sighting in Iguazú National Park on a given day, based on 16 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 106th most-seen of the 306 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report an Isabella's Longwing in Iguazú National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June and November–March, the lowest months. That is one of Iguazú National Park's driest months, with about 90 mm of rain against 240 mm in October.
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.
Among the best
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Isabella's Longwing sightings, Iguazú National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Iguaçu National Park (Brazil, about 10%).
Same family: Nymphalidae
The closest relatives of the Isabella's Longwing that you can see in Iguazú National Park (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are Agathina Emperor (about 70%), Hydaspes Eighty-Eight (about 50%) and Orange Mapwing (about 50%), 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 Iguazú National Park (16 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.
