With its orange wings finely veined with black, Heliconius ismenius, nicknamed "eye of the tiger," immediately catches the eye. This elegant butterfly, belonging to the large Nymphalidae family, displays all its subtlety here on the starry corollas of Pentas lanceolata, nicknamed "Egyptian star" due to the perfect shape of its flowers.

Its evocative name echoes the feline patterns of its wings, reminiscent of the piercing eye of a tiger hidden in the vegetation. But beneath this wild appearance hides a methodical forager. Like its cousins ​​in the Heliconius genus, it feeds not only on flower nectar but also on pollen, which gives it an unusual longevity among tropical butterflies: sometimes lasting several months!

In flight, its slow, supple beats offer an almost hypnotic spectacle, while its prolonged poses allow the attentive observer to immerse themselves in the graphic universe of its wings, half-wild, half-sculpted. In the soft light of the greenhouse, it seems to belong to both the animal and plant worlds, like a living link between the two.