QUEEN ALEXANDRA'S BIRDWING : THE LARGEST BUTTERFLY IN THE WORLD

 

Ornithoptera alexandrae, the Queen Alexandra's birdwing, is the largest species of butterfly in the world and is known for their vibrant coloration. This enormous butterfly was named by Alfred S. Meek (in 1907) to honor Queen Alexandra (1844-1925),of England.This birdwing is restricted to the forests of the Oro Province in eastern Papua New Guinea.Flight pattern: Slow and erratic.The males and females are very different in size, wing coloration, pattern, and shape, and body color. The female is larger, has brown wings (with white markings) and has a cream-colored body with a red tuft of fur on the thorax. The male is smaller, much brighter (with blue and green marking on its wings) and a bright yellow body.Queen Alexandra’s Birdwings are diurnal or active during the day.

The Queen Alexandra’s birdwing’s conservation status on the IUCN Red List is ‘Endangered’. This is mainly due  to habitat loss. More and more of the rainforest in which it lives is being deforested and being turned into oil palm plantations.The butterfly can weigh as much as 12 grams, which is quite ‘heavy’ in comparison to the entire butterfly family.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
The image is taken from rainforestanimals.net.
The information is taken from various sites Wikipedia, www.enchantedlearning.com and www.butterflyidentification.com 

Priya sharma
Rollno:- 22-MSZ-20
Msc zoology semester-2


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