Snout Moth vs Wallace's Longwing

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Snout Moth Wallace's Longwing
Scientific Name Vitessa suradeva Heliconius wallacei
Order Lepidoptera Lepidoptera
Family Pyralidae Nymphalidae
Size 40-50 mm wingspan 60-72 mm wingspan
Habitat Forests Forests
Diet Herbivores Nectar Feeders
Regions Southeast Asia South America (Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador)
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Snout Moth

A large pyralid moth from Southeast Asia and New Guinea whose caterpillars spin webs on young leaves of poisonous shrubs. Adults have elongated labial palps forming a 'snout'.

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Did You Know?

Caterpillars can tolerate feeding on toxic plants that would kill most other moth species.

Wallace's Longwing

A relatively rare Heliconius species with dark wings marked by a distinctive yellow band on the forewing and red patches at the base of the hindwing. Named after the naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace. It is primarily found in western Amazonian forests.

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Did You Know?

Named after Alfred Russel Wallace, who independently conceived the theory of evolution by natural selection while studying insects in South America and Southeast Asia.