Heliconius hecalesia
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
Heliconius hecalesia, the five-spotted longwing, is a species of butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found from Central America to Venezuela and Ecuador. The wingspan is 50–61 mm. Adults feed on flower nectar. The larvae feed on plants from the subgenera Tryphostemmatoides and Plectostemma, including Passiflora biflora and Passiflora lancearea. They are gregarious. Pupation takes place in a slate grey pupa with black markings. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rincón de la Vieja National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Tortuguero National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Lago de Yojoa | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 4 | Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 5 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | Arenal Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 7 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Five-Spotted Heliconian sighting in Rincón de la Vieja National Park on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 27th most-seen of the 56 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June–July and November
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Five-Spotted Heliconian in Rincón de la Vieja National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August–October and December–May, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Five-Spotted Heliconian sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 7 parks where we can rate Five-Spotted Heliconian sightings, Rincón de la Vieja National Park has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Tortuguero National Park (Costa Rica, about 10%) and Lago de Yojoa (Honduras, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Five-Spotted Heliconian is recorded against all the insects logged in Rincón de la Vieja National Park (8 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.
