Queen Alexandra's Birdwing

Ornithoptera alexandrae, Queen Alexandra's birdwing, is the largest butterfly species in the world. Female wingspans reach 28 cm — larger than many bird species. Males are slightly smaller (15-19 cm) but more vividly colored, with iridescent blue-green wings outlined in black. Females are brown with white spotted markings. The species is endemic to a tiny range in Northern Province, Papua New Guinea — primarily the Popondetta Plain, where its caterpillar food plant (Aristolochia dielsiana, a vine in the pipevine family) grows naturally. The species was first collected for science in 1906 by naturalist Albert Stewart Meek, who encountered specimens flying high in the rainforest canopy and could not net them; he resorted to bringing one down with a shotgun fired at low load. (The damaged specimen still exists in London's Natural History Museum.) The species is now Critically Endangered. Volcanic eruptions of Mount Lamington in 1951 destroyed substantial habitat; oil palm plantation expansion since the 1990s has further fragmented populations. International trade has been banned since 1987 under CITES Appendix I, the strictest protection available. Wild populations are estimated under 1,000 adults.