Before the Audubon Nature Garden was started seven years ago,  I had never seen a Zebra Longwing in Grand Harbor. I had only seen them in the hammocks at the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area.  Now we have them.

Host: The host plant for this butterfly is the Passionflower Vine. They only lay their eggs on the shady side whereas the Gulf Fritillary lays its eggs on the sunny side of the same vine. The caterpillar is white with harmless black spines.

Social: The Zebra Longwing is a social butterfly. At night they roost together in groups. Spanish Moss is the preferred perch.

Food: The ZL lives a lot longer than most butterflies. The adult lives up to five months. This is because early in the morning the ZL collects pollen on the tip of his proboscis. The pollen is broken down into amino acids and then they are sucked up.  They also nectar on lots of our flowering plants.

Unusual Sex: The Zebra Longwing males fight for the right to impregnate the emerging female.  The signal for this a scent she emits. This behavior is called “pupal rape”. Which probably is politically incorrect? The male then applies a chemical which acts a repellant to other males to make sure only his genes are passed on.

Don Morris