Flower Longhorn vs Numata Longwing

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Flower Longhorn Numata Longwing
Scientific Name Pachyta quadrimaculata Heliconius numata
Order Coleoptera Lepidoptera
Family Cerambycidae Nymphalidae
Size 11-20mm 60-75 mm wingspan
Habitat Forests Forests
Diet Root Feeders Nectar Feeders
Regions Europe, Asia South America (Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia)
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Flower Longhorn

A robust yellow longhorn beetle with four black spots on its elytra. It is a common visitor to umbelliferous flowers in northern forests.

💡

Did You Know?

Despite being a beetle it is frequently mistaken for a wasp due to its yellow and black patterning.

Numata Longwing

A remarkable butterfly that exists in over a dozen wing pattern forms, each mimicking a different species of toxic Melinaea butterfly. Despite their different appearances, all forms belong to the same species. Wing pattern variation is controlled by a supergene on a single chromosome.

💡

Did You Know?

Its wing pattern diversity is controlled by a chromosomal inversion that acts as a supergene, one of the best-studied examples of this genetic mechanism.