For most butterfly species, an adult's life is brief and'with all due respect to butterflies'unextraordinary. After emerging from its chrysalis, a butterfly will stretch its new wings and set off in search of nectar and sex, spending the rest of its days flitting among flowers, mates, and spots to lay eggs. Within a few weeks, it'll be dead. Not so for Heliconius butterflies. Adults in this genus can survive for many months after metamorphosizing, which ranks them among the longest-lived butterflies ever documented. In one case, scientists observed a Heliconius species in a butterfly house living close to a year'25 times longer than relatives in a similar genus. From the human perspective, that's the rough equivalent of another great-ape species surviving for more than a millennium. Through their final moments, too, these butterflies maintain an unusual vivacity. In experiments, aged Heliconius feed, flap, and lay eggs just as vigorously as their younger peers; even their muscle...
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