Found from sea level to 1,200 m, in association with all forest habitats. Generally encountered during the morning as solitary indivuduals along forest edges and in light gaps, buts the insect can be very common in the forest canopy. Some authors consider H. doris to represent a subgenus (Laparus) of Heliconius because it has a different chromosome number, and is behaviorally somewhat different from other species. Although Heliconius doris is often said not to collect pollen, in Costa Rica this species is frequently found with the largest pollen loads of any Heliconius. It is of interest that Heliconius doris does not fit into any particular mimicry pattern, unlike all the other species.