| Genus/Species: | Ornithoptera alexandrae (left: female upperside; right: male underside) |
| Common Name: | Queen Alexandra Birdwing |
| Family/Tribe: | Papilionidae: Troidini |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Origin: | Oro Province |
| Location: | IFTA |
| Remarks: | The world’s largest butterfly, the Queen
Alexandra Birdwing Ornithoptera alexandrae can be found only in Oro Province in PNG. The females have a wingspan of about 30 cm, for males it is 25 cm. The species became known to science in 1907, when the naturalist Meek shot down a female which he mistook for a bird. Unfortunately, there are not many individuals of this species left due to the removal of the rain forest for the establishment of oil palm plantations. Once the forest has been cleared, the foodplants of this butterfly disappear as well. There is some evidence of illegal trade in O. alexandrae. The Oro Conservation Project aims in the conservation of this species, for instance by encouraging the local people to propagate the larval foodplant and thus to farm the butterfly. The species is protected, included in the Red List of Threatened Animals and listed in Appendix A of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). |
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© John W. Dobunaba & Michael F. Schneider, 1999