One of the 15 butterflies on WAnimals
Insects · Lepidoptera · Papilionidae
Queen Alexandra's Birdwing
Ornithoptera alexandrae
It faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future. See full glossary
Queen Alexandra's birdwing is a ditrysian lepidopteran of the family Papilionidae. It is the largest butterfly in the world. It lives in New Guinea.
Size
15 cm – 28 cm
Diet
Herbivore
Feeds mainly on plants.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Social structure
Solitary
Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.
Sighting difficulty
Hard
Fun facts
- It is one of only four insect species listed in CITES Appendix I, the category that bans international trade outright, which it entered in 1987; Papua New Guinea had already protected it by law since 1966.
- It was discovered in 1906 by Albert Stewart Meek, a collector working for Walter Rothschild, who named it in 1907 after Alexandra of Denmark; the first specimens were obtained by shooting them down with small shot, because they flew too high for nets.
- Its main threat is the conversion of lowland rainforest into oil palm plantations, and its entire range fits into a few hundred square kilometres.
Life cycle & biology
- Habitat & environment
- Lowland rainforest of Oro Province, in Papua New Guinea
Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ornithoptera_alexandrae
Where to watch it
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Queen Alexandra's Birdwing — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Blue Emperor
Papilio ulysses
EndangeredSouthern Cassowary
Casuarius casuarius
Dwarf Cassowary
Casuarius bennetti
Spectacled Flying Fox
Pteropus conspicillatus
Common Phalanger
Phalanger orientalis
Common Spotted Cuscus
Spilocuscus maculatus
How to help
The queen alexandra's birdwing is classified as endangered. Organizations such as UICN, WWF y Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programs is a good starting point if you want to get involved.
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about queen alexandra's birdwing.
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