The postman butterfly, common postman or simply postman, is a brightly coloured butterfly found throughout Central and South America. Predominately black with either red or yellow stripes across the forewings, there are many morphs throughout Central and South America. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. Its coloration coevolved with a sister species H. erato as a warning to predators of its inedibility. It possesses ultraviolet vision which enhances its ability to distinguish subtle differences between markings on the wings of other butterflies.
