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Butterfly Ranching In Papua New Guinea
Butterfly ranching in Papua New Guinea is a method for sustainable use of insect biodiversity endorsed and supported by the national government. The trade is controlled by the Insect Farming and Trading Agency, an organ of the Papua New Guinea government. Papua New Guinea has a spectacular butterfly fauna, including the world's largest butterflies, the Queen Alexandra's birdwing (''Ornithoptera alexandrae'') and the Goliath birdwing ('' Ornithoptera goliath''). A mosaic gynandromorphic specimen of the Goliath birdwing was sold by a Taiwanese dealer for US$28,000 in July 2006, which is possibly the world record for the highest price paid for a butterfly. Prior to the establishment of the government legislation, the butterfly trade depended upon expatriate dealers who traded in wild-caught specimens. A Food and Agriculture Organization project in the early seventies aided the government in adopting this eco-friendly utilisation scheme. The IFTA promotes the ecologically sound and su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands in Melanesia (a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean north of Australia). Its capital, located along its southeastern coast, is Port Moresby. The country is the world's third largest island country, with an area of . At the national level, after being ruled by three external powers since 1884, including nearly 60 years of Australian administration starting during World War I, Papua New Guinea established its sovereignty in 1975. It became an independent Commonwealth realm in 1975 with Elizabeth II as its queen. It also became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations in its own right. There are 839 known languages of Papua New Guinea, one of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Insect Biodiversity
Insect biodiversity accounts for a large proportion of all biodiversity on the planet—over half of the estimated 1.5 million organism species described are classified as insects. Species diversity Estimates of the total number of insect species or those within specific orders are often highly variable. Globally, averages of these predictions estimate there are around 1.5 million beetle species and 5.5 million insect species with around 1 million insect species currently found and described. Between 950,000–1,000,000 of all described species are insects, so over 50% of all described eukaryotes (1.8 million) are insects (see illustration). With only 950,000 known non-insects, if the actual number of insects is 5.5 million, they may represent over 80% of the total, and with only about 20,000 new species of all organisms being described each year, most insect species likely will remain undescribed, unless species descriptions greatly increase in rate. Of the 24 orders of insects, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Insect Farming And Trading Agency
The Insect Farming and Trading Agency (IFTA) was set up by the government of Papua New Guinea in 1978 to regulate the exploitation and conservation of Queen Alexandra's Birdwing and other valuable butterflies. Papua New Guinea has a significant butterfly fauna, including the world's largest butterflies, the Queen Alexandra's Birdwing (''Ornithoptera alexandrae'') and the Goliath Birdwing ('' Ornithoptera goliath''). A Prior to the establishment of the government legislation, the butterfly trade depended upon expatriate dealers who traded in wild-caught specimens. A Food and Agriculture Organization project in the early seventies aided the Government in adopting this ecofriendly utilisation scheme. The IFTA promotes the ecologically sound and sustainable practice of butterfly ranching where free ranging butterflies lay their eggs on foodplants specifically grown for this purpose. Eggs, larvae and pupae are protected and allowed to grow safely to adult stage. A portion of the newly h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ornithoptera Alexandrae
''Ornithoptera alexandrae'', the Queen Alexandra's birdwing, is the largest species of butterfly in the world, with females reaching wingspans slightly in excess of 25 cm to 28 cm (9.8 inches to 11 inches). This birdwing is restricted to the forests of the Oro Province in eastern Papua New Guinea. The species is endangered and one of only three insects (the other two being butterflies as well) to be listed on Appendix I of CITES, making commercial international trade illegal.CITES appendices I, II and III official website History The species was discovered in 1906 by Albert Stewart Meek, a collector employed by |
Ornithoptera Goliath
''Ornithoptera goliath'', the Goliath birdwing, is a birdwing butterfly found in New Guinea. It is the second largest butterfly in the world, after the Queen Alexandra's birdwing. Etymology Both the specific and vernacular name are named after Goliath, the biblical giant famous for his combat with the young David, the future king of Israel. The subspecific names ''atlas'', ''titan'' and ''samson'' refer to other giants namely Atlas, Titan and Samson. Description ''Ornithoptera goliath'' is strongly sexually dimorphic. ''Ornithoptera goliath'' has a wingspan up to . This makes it the world's second largest butterfly. The African giant swallowtail reaches an almost equal wingspan. Male. The Goliath birdwing's forewings are black. The costal edge is green and beyond the medium black bar is a large green triangle which reaches the dorsum but not the black ternum. The underside is greenish yellow and greenish. The veins are black and there is a black border. The outer cells ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gynandromorphic
A gynandromorph is an organism that contains both male and female characteristics. The term comes from the Greek γυνή (''gynē'') 'female', ἀνήρ (''anēr'') 'male', and μορφή (''morphē'') 'form', and is used mainly in the field of entomology. Gynandromorphism is most frequently recognized in organisms that have strong sexual dimorphism such as certain butterflies, spiders, and birds, but has been recognized in numerous other types of organisms. Occurrence Gynandromorphism has been noted in Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) since the 1700s. It has also been observed in crustaceans, such as lobsters and crabs, in spiders, ticks, flies, locusts, crickets, dragonflies, ants, termites, bees, lizards, snakes, rodents, and many species of birds. A notable example in birds is the zebra finch. These birds have lateralised brain structures in the face of a common steroid signal, providing strong evidence for a non-hormonal primary sex mechanism regulating brain dif ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birdwing
Birdwings are butterflies in the swallowtail family, that belong to the genera ''Trogonoptera'', ''Troides'', and ''Ornithoptera''. Most recent authorities recognise 36 species, however, this is debated, and some authorities include additional genera. Birdwings are named for their exceptional size, angular wings, and birdlike flight. They are found across tropical Asia, mainland and archipelagic Southeast Asia, and Australasia. Included among the birdwings are some of the largest butterflies in the world: the largest, Queen Alexandra's birdwing; the second largest, the Goliath birdwing; the largest butterfly endemic to Australia, the Cairns birdwing; and the largest butterfly in India, the southern birdwing. Another well-known species is Rajah Brooke's birdwing, a particularly attractive species named after Sir James Brooke, the first White Rajah of 19th-century Sarawak. Due to their size and brightly coloured males, they are popular among collectors of butterflies, but all b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Food And Agriculture Organization
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an international organization that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, ', translates to "let there be bread". It was founded on 16 October 1945. The FAO is composed of 195 members (including 194 countries and the European Union). Their headquarters is in Rome, Italy, and the FAO maintains regional and field offices around the world, operating in over 130 countries. It helps governments and development agencies coordinate their activities to improve and develop agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and land and water resources. It also conducts research, provides technical assistance to projects, operates educational and training programs, and collects data on agricultural output, produ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Insect Farming
Insect farming is the practice of raising and breeding insects as livestock, also referred to as ''minilivestock'' or ''micro stock''. Insects may be farmed for the commodities they produce (like silk, honey, lac or insect tea), or for them themselves; to be used as food, as feed, as a dye, and otherwise. Farming of popular insects Silkworms Silkworms, the caterpillars of the domestic silkmoth, are kept to produce silk, an elastic fiber made when they are in the process of creating a cocoon. Silk is commonly regarded as a major cash crop and is used in the crafting of many textiles. Mealworms The mealworm (''Tenebrio molitor'' L.) is the larvae form of a species of darkling beetles (Coleoptera). The optimum incubation temperature is 25 ̊C - 27 ̊C and its embryonic development lasts 4 – 6 days. It has a long larvae period of about half a year with the optimum temperature and low moisture terminates. The protein content of ''Tenebrio molitor'' larvae, adult, exuvium and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Butterflies Of Oceania
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises the large superfamily Papilionoidea, which contains at least one former group, the skippers (formerly the superfamily "Hesperioidea"), and the most recent analyses suggest it also contains the moth-butterflies (formerly the superfamily "Hedyloidea"). Butterfly fossils date to the Paleocene, about 56 million years ago. Butterflies have a four-stage life cycle, as like most insects they undergo complete metamorphosis. Winged adults lay eggs on the food plant on which their larvae, known as caterpillars, will feed. The caterpillars grow, sometimes very rapidly, and when fully developed, pupate in a chrysalis. When metamorphosis is complete, the pupal skin splits, the adult insect climbs out, and after its wings have expanded and dried, it flie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Environment Of Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands in Melanesia (a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean north of Australia). Its capital, located along its southeastern coast, is Port Moresby. The country is the world's third largest island country, with an area of . At the national level, after being ruled by three external powers since 1884, including nearly 60 years of Australian administration starting during World War I, Papua New Guinea established its sovereignty in 1975. It became an independent Commonwealth realm in 1975 with Elizabeth II as its queen. It also became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations in its own right. There are 839 known languages of Papua New Guinea, one of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lepidoptera Of Papua New Guinea
Lepidoptera ( ) is an order of insects that includes butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 families and 46 superfamilies, 10 percent of the total described species of living organisms. It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world. The Lepidoptera show many variations of the basic body structure that have evolved to gain advantages in lifestyle and distribution. Recent estimates suggest the order may have more species than earlier thought, and is among the four most speciose orders, along with the Hymenoptera, Diptera, and Coleoptera. Lepidopteran species are characterized by more than three derived features. The most apparent is the presence of scales that cover the bodies, wings, and a proboscis. The scales are modified, flattened "hairs", and give butterflies and moths their wide variety of colors and patterns. Almost all species have some form of memb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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