Ornithoptera rothschildi

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Ornithoptera rothschildi
Ornithoptera rothschildi, female

Ornithoptera rothschildi , female

Systematics
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Knight Butterfly (Papilionidae)
Subfamily : Papilioninae
Tribe : Troidini
Genre : Bird butterfly ( Ornithoptera )
Type : Ornithoptera rothschildi
Scientific name
Ornithoptera rothschildi
Kenrick , 1911
male

Ornithoptera rothschildi ( English : Rothschild's birdwing ) is a large butterfly from the family of the swallowtail butterfly and belongs to the genus of bird moth (also bird wing butterfly or Birdwing called). It is endemic to the Arfak Mountains of western New Guinea .

The first researcher to come across this species was the entomologist Carl Brenders Pratt. The first description is from 1911 by George H. Kenrick. It was named after the British nobleman and zoologist Lionel Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild , who financed many expeditions to New Guinea and Papua .

features

The females reach a wingspan of up to 15 centimeters. The forewings are dark brown to blackish brown with creamy white dots. The rear pair of wings is bordered with black scales and is colored yellow with black dots in the middle area. The abdomen has black hairy rings. The males are somewhat smaller, but have colorful, iridescent scales. The wingspan is about 13 centimeters and the body length up to eight centimeters. The front pair of wings is framed with black scales and in the central area the scales are colored black, yellow-green and yellow. The rear pair of wings has black scales on the edge. The middle area is drawn in yellow with black dots, on which smaller lime green colored spots adjoin. The abdomen is golden yellow.

Way of life

In contrast to other bird butterflies, it does not drink from puddles, but draws its water from the nectar that it sucks from the flowers.

distribution

Ornithoptera rothschildi has the most restricted distribution of all bird butterflies. Its habitat are meadows of flowers at an altitude of 1,800 to 2,700 m above sea level in wind-protected valleys and gorges of Mt. Arfak and Mt. Koberai as well as Lake Anggi and Manyam Bou in the Arfak Mountains of West Papua.

Danger

Ornithoptera rothschildi is potentially endangered due to its limited range. The real danger, however, comes from the destruction of the habitat, since the natural mountain meadows are disappearing more and more through agricultural use, the creation of plantations and construction activities. Ornithoptera rothschildi is protected by Appendix II of the CITES agreement.

Rare hybrid

In 1977 a female of a new butterfly species was discovered near Mt. Arfak, which was described as Ornithoptera akakeae . Two years later, however, it was found that it was a natural cross between Ornithoptera rothschildi and Ornithoptera priamus poseidon .

Web links

Commons : Ornithoptera rothschildi  - album with pictures, videos and audio files