Rothschild's birdwing (''Ornithoptera rothschildi'') is a large

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 ...

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

, endemic to the

Arfak Mountains The Arfak Mountains is a mountain range found on the Bird's Head Peninsula in the Province of West Papua, Indonesia. The term "arfak" came from the language of the coastal Biak people, meaning "inferior." This is due to how big the mountains are ...

Western New Guinea Western New Guinea, also known as Papua, Indonesian New Guinea, or Indonesian Papua, is the western half of the Melanesian island of New Guinea which is administered by Indonesia. Since the island is alternatively named as Papua, the region ...

. What was originally described as ''

Ornithoptera akakeae ''Ornithoptera akakeae'' is the name given to a birdwing butterfly that is a natural hybrid between '' Ornithoptera rothschildi'' and ''Ornithoptera priamus poseidon''. Despite the fact that hybrids do not warrant a binomial name, the name ''Orni ...

'', is a supposed natural hybrid between ''Ornithoptera rothschildi'' and ''

Ornithoptera priamus poseidon ''Ornithoptera priamus'', the common green birdwing, Cape York birdwing, Priam's birdwing, northern birdwing or New Guinea birdwing is a widespread species of birdwing butterfly found in the central and south Moluccas, New Guinea, Bismarck Archi ...

''.

History

This species was first recognized by

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

Charles Edgar Pratt and described by George Kenrick in 1911. It was named in honour of Lord Walter Rothschild who financed most of the expeditions of the naturalist Antwerp Edgar Pratt (1850-1924) and his two sons, Carl Brenders Pratt and Felix Biet Pratt, to British New Guinea from 1902–1903 and to the Arfak Mountains of Dutch New Guinea from 1909–1910.

Description

The females can reach a wingspan up to . The forewings are dark brown to blackish brown with creamy white to greyish spots. The hindwings rimmed with black scales and have a central patch of golden with black tips. The abdomen has hairy black rings. The wingspan of the males is approximately and the body length up to . The forewings of the males are surrounded with black scales and in the central area with blackish, yellowish-green and yellow scales. The hindwings have black scales on the edge. The central patch is yellow with black tips abutting with smaller spots which are coloured lime green. The abdomen is golden. Rothschild's Birdwing has the most restricted distribution of all birdwings. Its habitat are flowering meadows in an altitude of above sea level.

References

*D'Abrera, B. (1975) ''Birdwing Butterflies of the World''. Country Life Books, London. *Haugum, J. & Low, A.M. 1978-1985. ''A Monograph of the Birdwing Butterflies''. 2 volumes. Scandinavian Press, Klampenborg; 663 pp. *Deslisle, G. (2004) A taxonomic revision of the “birdwing butterflies of paradise”, genus Ornithoptera based on the adult morphology (Lepidoptera, Papilionidae). L''ambillionea'', 104 (4): 1 - 151.

Gallery

External links

Butterflycorner.net
(English/German)
Blue OrnithopteraArkive - Rothschild's Birdwing
*

Consortium for the Barcode of Life The Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL) was an international initiative dedicated to supporting the development of DNA barcoding as a global standard for species identification. CBOL's Secretariat Office is hosted by the National Museum of ...

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Images
Northwestern portion of the island of New Guinea montane rainforest ecoregion
{{Taxonbar, from=Q142839 Ornithoptera Butterflies of Oceania Lepidoptera of New Guinea Insects of Western New Guinea Endemic fauna of Indonesia Vulnerable fauna of Oceania Butterflies described in 1911