So I finally decided on which species of Brazilian butterfly to paint only to discover that finding its caterpillar was and I quote ‘mission impossible ’ according to a lepidopterist I contacted.
Given that I am a bit contrary, I persisted anyway. In my quest I have been in touch with five English Natural History Museums and Stratford Butterfly Farm. A chap from London Natural History Museum gave me some hope by pointing me in the direction of research conducted by Keith S. Brown. After my mum’s marathon of phone calls to Brazilian museums, societies and laboratories (19 in total); eureka! A professor who had done her phd here, came up trumps and sent me an article by Keith S. Brown with black and white photos of the caterpillar alongside detailed scientific description; jackpot!
So the allusive caterpillar in question is the Heliconius nattereri who is on the verge of extinction due to a combination of deforestation and climate change because it inhabits a relatively small geographical area in the Atlantic Forest region.
