About Pierella helvina (Hewitson, 1860)
Pierella helvina (Hewitson, 1860) has a dark brown base wing color. On its forewings, three black bands cross the wing cell, with the innermost band extending to the inner margin. The end of the cell is also black. Two parallel black bands stretch across the forewing from the inner margin to the costa. Between these two bands and the outer margin lies a series of spots: the spot closest to the costa is black, the next spot is also black, and the two following spots are white. Its hindwings have three black cross bands. Beyond the third cross band, there is a large red patch. Beyond this red patch, the wing tissue is darker, and contains a white spot and a black ocellus that looks like a pupil. The outer margin of the hindwing is deeply indented, and the anal patch is dark brown. The larvae of this species feed on Heliconia and Calathea species. This species is distributed across Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.
