![]() Queen Alexandra's have lost much of their range across Oro province's coastal plain and are now condensed into a small stronghold on a remote plateau called Managalas. Their biggest threat, however, remains progressive habitat clearance. ![]() Red hairs on the emerged adult butterfly's thorax warn predators that it remains highly toxic. Emerging caterpillars feeding on aristolochia ingest its toxins throughout all stages of growth until they pupate into chrysalises. Queen Alexandra's eggs are laid on the poisonous leaves of a tropical pine-vine called aristolochia, found in Oro province's rainforests. It is not clearly understood why the butterfly grows so large but its lack of predators due to its unpalatable nature is certainly a factor. They are almost one-third larger than the males, which are iridescently patterned gold, turquoise, green, and black. The females are velvety-black with cream patches and bright yellow abdomens. The Natural History Museum taxonomically allocated his buckshot-peppered specimens into the birdwing genus (a tropical grouping possessing super-elongated forewings) and named it after Edward VII's wife.īecause of substantial sexual dimorphism it took some time to correlate males and females as the same species. ![]() ![]() The fast-flying butterfly frequents high rainforest canopy so Meek resorted to blasting them down by shotgun. Edwardian naturalist Albert Meek first recorded it in 1906 on a collecting expedition to PNG. ![]()
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