Movement, translocation and MRR data for Heliconius butterflies

Site fidelity plays an important role in increasing foraging efficiency, particularly when food resources are reliable. In insects, site fidelity has largely been studied in Hymenopteran species, which consistently return to their nest site after foraging bouts. In butterflies, evidence of foraging site fidelity are limited but may be present in species with specific foraging specialisations, such as Heliconius, which have a derived foraging behaviour centred around active pollen feeding. Unlike many Hymenoptera, Heliconius are neither eusocial nor nesting species, positioning them as a peculiar case where foraging site fidelity may occur in the absence of any central nest-like structure. However, to date, existing studies do not consider low dispersal as an alternative to site fidelity. In this study, we use a mark-release-recapture experiment to test whether individuals of two Heliconius species exhibit true site fidelity. We further test this fidelity by measuring flight orientation ...