BELIZE RAINFOREST BUTTERFLY - THE PINK CATTLEHEART

LAUREN'S BUTTERFLIES OF BELIZE (Part Three)

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Butterflies from Around the World:  http://www.pbase.com/lejun/butterflies_from_around_the_world

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PINK CATTLEHEART BUTTERFLIES - Tropical Rainforests of Central America
I like to think of this butterfly as the Belize rainforest butterfly. 
It was very hard to find alot of information about this butterfly.  Their common name comes from the bright red spots on their hind wings.  The wing span is approximately 2.8 to 3.3 inches.  Both sexes have black wings, with a red spot on the dorsal hind wing.  The dorsal fore wing of the male has a triangular green patch, and the dorsal fore wing of the female has a white patch.

There seems to be quite a bit of variability in the coloring and markings of this species.  Their habitat is commonly the tropical rain forests of Mexico and North South America. 

Cattleheart caterpillars feed on the poisonous pioevine plant (aristolchia sp.) and these toxins are incorporated into their blood.  For this reason, the Cattleheart butterflies are unpalatable to birds. 

So the next time you are walking through the rainforest in Belize, stop for a moment in the sunshine and see if you can see a Cattleheart Butterfly.

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