The Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing Ornithoptera alexandrae is the largest butterfly in the world, with the female’s wingspan up to 30cm. Found in Papua New Guinea, this vibrant butterfly is sadly endangered as a result of habitat loss caused by large-scale logging, expanding smallholder agriculture, and oil palm planting. In 2017 the Swallowtail and Birdwing Butterfly […]

The Richmond Birdwing Ornithoptera richmondia is a large, vibrant butterfly found in eastern Australia. The male has a bright yellow body and a kaleidoscope of black and metallic blue, aqua, green and yellow on its wings. Sadly, however, this beautiful butterfly is vulnerable and, despite being protected in Queensland, several of its populations have disappeared […]

High up in the wooded mountains of Bhutan flutter two species of swallowtail – the Bhutan Glory and Ludlow’s Bhutan Glory. Both are striking black and white butterflies with vibrant red and yellow markings that give the appearance of eyes. In 2019, the IUCN Red List considered Ludlow’s Bhutan Glory Bhutanitis ludlowi (which is Bhutan’s […]

The Homerus Swallowtail Papilio homerus is the largest butterfly in the Americas with a forewing length of about 75 mm. Endemic to Jamaica, this black and yellow butterfly lives in virgin forest on mountain slopes, but loss of its habitat due to expanding agriculture and mining, and over-collecting threaten its future. Despite years of intermittent […]

Fiji is home to just two species of swallowtail – amongst them the Natewa Swallowtail, a large and elegant black and cream butterfly. The species was first spotted in 2017 by ornithologist Greg Kerr and it was the Swallowtail and Birdwing Butterfly Trust (SBBT) who recognised it as new to science in 2018. Building on […]