Ornithoptera paradisea (Paradise Birdwing, Paradies Vogelschwingenfalter)

Ornithoptera paradisea, also called Paradise Birdwing is a butterfly from Australasia / Indomalaya ecozone (Australia). The first description was in 1893 by Staudinger. The wingspan is about 14 – 19 cm. This butterfly is a member of the family PAPILIONIDAE. Ornithoptera paradisea is black. It has green and golden areas on the wings. The hind wings have thin tails. The females are dark-brown and have some white and yellow spots. They are significant-larger than the males.

Photos for easy identification

: 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 paradisea (Paradise Birdwing, Paradies Vogelschwingenfalter) (male above / female below). Ornithoptera paradisea is a member of the family PAPILIONIDAE from Australasia / Indomalaya (Australia).

Description

The fore wings are black. The wing leading edge is green. In the middle of the wing there is a large, green band.
The underside of Ornithoptera paradisea is green. The veins are black. Next to the wing tip there is a black area.

The hind wings of Ornithoptera paradisea are tiny, golden and have thin tails. The inner edge is black. Between the golden area and the inner edge there is a green stripe. The outer edge is green.
The underside nearly is a copy of upside. But, the inner edge is green and hairy.

The body (abdomen) is yellow. Head and thorax are black and green.

Sex differences: The female covers the upper range of the wing-span. It is significant-larger than the male. The basic colour of the female is dark-brown. Two groups of white spots dominate the fore wing. On the hind wings there is a big 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. The underside is a copy from upside, but all colours are stronger.

Distribution

Ornithoptera paradisea (Paradise Birdwing, Paradies Vogelschwingenfalter) 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

General information

The first description of this butterfly was in 1893 by Staudinger. There are five subspecies.

Ornithoptera paradisea borchi [Haugum & Low, 1974]
Ornithoptera paradisea chrysanthemum [Kobayashi & Koiwaya, 1979]
Ornithoptera paradisea demeter [So & Sato, 1998]
Ornithoptera paradisea detanii [Schäffler, 2001]
Ornithoptera paradisea flavescens [Rothschild, 1897]

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 paradisea m (upside)

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

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

Here you can see some macro photos of Ornithoptera paradisea.

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:

-endangered, protected- (as at 2008)