Troides darsius

Troides darsius is a butterfly from Australasia / Indomalaya ecozone (Australia). The first description was in 1852 by Gray. The wingspan is about 15 – 17 cm. This butterfly is a member of the family PAPILIONIDAE. Troides darsius is black. It has a large golden area on the hind wings. The females are brown and have some white and golden spots.

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 Troides darsius (male above / female below). Troides darsius is a member of the family PAPILIONIDAE from Australasia / Indomalaya (Australia).

Description

The fore wings are black.
The underside of Troides darsius is dark-brown. The veins are bordered by white colour.

The hind wings of Troides darsius are black. There is a large golden area in the middle of the wing. The veins are black and they cleave the golden area.
The underside is a copy from upside.

The body (abdomen) is brown, but the underside is yellow. Head and thorax are black. The underside of thorax has a red hair-coat.

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 brown. The veins bordered by white colour. There is a golden area with dark veins on the hind wings. At the outer edge there is a chain of yellow spots. The underside is a copy from upside.

Distribution

Troides darsius is a butterfly from the Australasia / Indomalaya (Australia) ecozone. The distribution is restricted on Sri Lanka.

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

Larval food

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General information

The first description of this butterfly was in 1852 by Gray. There are no subspecies.

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

: Photo © by Naturhistorisches Museum Wien; Photographer Thomas Neubauer

: Photo © by Naturhistorisches Museum Wien; Photographer Thomas Neubauer

Here you can see the form Troides darsius f cambyses (male).

Macro photos

: Photo © by Naturhistorisches Museum Wien; Photographer Thomas Neubauer macro photograph of Troides darsius m (upside)

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

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

Here you can see some macro photos of Troides darsius.

Protection provisions / Red List

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

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

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

-endangered, protected- (Stand: 2008)