Appearance
''Upper Side.'' Antennae black. Eyes brown. Thorax and abdomen black. Wings mazarine blue; the anterior ones having a white band crossing them from the middle of the anterior edges to the lower corners; the posterior edged with a white border, intersected by the blue tendons of the wings.''Under Side.'' Palpi grey. Breast and abdomen black, streaked with white. Wings black where they are blue on the upper side, with the same white markings; but next the body are adorned with beautiful red streaks, ending in points resembling rays issuing from it. Margins of the wings entire. Wing-span 3¼ inches .
Naming
Drury left no notes on the origin of the name, but the spelling suggests it derives from the mythological Queen Sapho, not the historical poet Sappho. Subsequent authors, from Westwood onwards, have unjustifiably "corrected" the spelling.*''Heliconius sapho sapho''⤷ ''Heliconius sapho leuce'' Doubleday, 1847
⤷ ''Heliconius sapho hewitsoni'' Hewitson, 1875
⤷ ''Heliconius sapho chocoensis'' Brown & Benson, 1975
⤷ ''Heliconius sapho candidus'' Brown, 1976
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