Wingspan about 82–92 mm.
Fine-art photographic collection
Dryas iulia
An orange heliconian that drinks reptile tears and carries passionflower chemistry into adulthood.
About this species
Julia Butterfly
Dryas iulia(Fabricius, 1775)
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Dryas iulia is a fast-flying heliconian native from the southern United States through Central and South America. Its caterpillars develop on passionflowers, while adults take nectar and mineral-rich fluids; released butterfly-house stock established wild populations in parts of Southeast Asia.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Lepidoptera · Nymphalidae · Dryas
Accepted taxon. · checked 2026-07-15
the Neotropics, with introduced populations in Thailand and MalaysiaBroad range and selected reference localities — not a complete occurrence map.
the Neotropics, with introduced populations in Thailand and Malaysia
Sunny forest edges, clearings, gardens and other open tropical or subtropical habitats with passion vines.
Diurnal and strongly active in sunshine.
Larvae feed on Passiflora; adults take nectar, minerals and other nutrient-rich fluids.
Solitary.
What makes this species remarkable?
Males have been filmed sipping sodium-rich tears directly from caimans and river turtles — a behaviour known as lachryphagy.
Caterpillars use chemically defended passionflowers and acquire cyanogenic compounds that help make the orange adults distasteful to predators.
DNA evidence linked the wild populations now established in Thailand and Malaysia to releases from the international butterfly trade.
More photographs
35