Doris Longwing Butterfly

What can you tell me about the Doris longwing butterfly?

—Doris Okhtokiyuk, Vancouver, Washington

Tom: The Doris longwing is a tropical butterfly found from Central America south to Peru, Venezuela, Guyana, Brazil and Trinidad. As with other tropical Heliconian butterflies, there are many color forms of this flier. They usually have large yellow spots on their forewings and rays of blue to green in the hind wings. The background color is black. The host plant for these butterflies includes various species of passion vines, which are common in the tropics. Because of their slow, lazy flights, they are beautiful to watch. You'll find them in butterfly houses around the country.