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