Ornithoptera chimaera

Ornithoptera chimaera is a butterfly from Australasia / Indomalaya ecozone (Australia). The first description was in 1904 by Rothschild. The wingspan is about 13 – 16 cm. This butterfly is a member of the family PAPILIONIDAE. Ornithoptera chimaera is black. It has green and golden areas on the wings. The females are dark-brown and have some white spots.

Photos

: Photo © by Naturhistorisches Museum Wien; Photographer Thomas Neubauer

: Photo © by Naturhistorisches Museum Wien; Photographer Thomas Neubauer

: Photo © by Naturhistorisches Museum Wien; Photographer Thomas Neubauer

: Photo © by Naturhistorisches Museum Wien; Photographer Thomas Neubauer

Here you can see some photos of Ornithoptera chimaera charybdis (male above / female below). Ornithoptera chimaera is a member of the family PAPILIONIDAE from Australasia / Indomalaya (Australia).

Description

The fore wings are black. There are two green strips on the wing.
The underside of Ornithoptera chimaera is green. The edge of the wing is black. The veins are black. There is a chain of little black spots on the wing.

The hind wings of Ornithoptera chimaera are multicoloured. The inner part of the wing and the edge are black. The other part of the wing is green. The green part contains some large, golden spots and two black spots.
The underside is green. Some large, golden spots and three black spots are on the wing. The inner edge is very hairy.

The body (abdomen) is yellow. Head and thorax are black. The underside of thorax has two red tufts.

Sex differences: The female covers the upper range of the wing-span. The basic colour of the female is dark-brown. There are some white spots on the fore wings. In the middle of the hind wings there is a large, white area. The outer edge of the white area is yellow. Between the white part and the yellow part there is a chain of black spots.

Distribution

Ornithoptera chimaera is a butterfly from the Australasia / Indomalaya (Australia) ecozone. The distribution is restricted on New Guinea and other islands in the neighbourhood.

: This world map shows the ecozones in which this butterfly is distributed.

Larval food

Aristolochiaceae:

Aristolochia pithecurus

General information

The first description of this butterfly was in 1904 by Rothschild. There are two subspecies.

Ornithoptera chimaera charybdis van Eecke, 1915
Ornithoptera chimaera flavidior Rothschild, 1913

Ornithoptera chimaera is, like all other Birdwings a true miracle of nature. This butterfly is strictly protected. It is listed in the appendix II from CITES.

Macro photos

: Photo © by Naturhistorisches Museum Wien; Photographer Thomas Neubauer; macro photograph of Ornithoptera chimaera f (upside)

: Photo © by Naturhistorisches Museum Wien; Photographer Thomas Neubauer; macro photograph of Ornithoptera chimaera f (underside)

: Photo © by Naturhistorisches Museum Wien; Photographer Thomas Neubauer; macro photograph of Ornithoptera chimaera f (underside)

: Photo © by Naturhistorisches Museum Wien; Photographer Thomas Neubauer; macro photograph of Ornithoptera chimaera m (underside)

Here you can see some macro photos of Ornithoptera chimaera.

Protection provisions / Red List

CITES: (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora):

-Appendix II- (as at 12.02.2008)
EU regulation on trading with species of wild Fauna and Flora:

-Appendix B- (as at 19.08.2005)
IUCN Red List of threatened species:

-no entry- (as at 2008)