heliconius

noun

hel·​i·​co·​ni·​us

ˌheləˈkōnēəs

1

capitalized : a large Neotropical genus of long-winged butterflies that are often brilliantly colored or mimetic and that with related American butterflies constitute a subfamily of Nymphalidae or in some classifications the separate family Heliconiidae

2

plural heliconii

-ēˌī

: any butterfly of the genus Heliconius

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Latin, of Helicon

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