DIMINISHING ROYALTY
Phylum:Arthropoda
Class :Insecta
Order :Lepidoptera
Family:Papilionidae
Genus :Ornithoptera
Species:Ornithoptera alexandrae
Queen Alexandra's Birdwing, the world's largest butterfly boasts a 1ft (30cm) wingspan is becoming endangered in its rainforest home in Papua New Guinea.Its habitat is being destroyed by oilpalm expansion and coffee and cocoa growing.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.
Queen Alexandra's eggs are laid on the poisonous leaves of a tropical pine-vine called Aristolochia, found in Oro province's rainforests. Emerging caterpillars feeding on aristolochia ingest its toxins throughout all stages of growth until they pupate into chrysalises. Red hairs on the emerged adult butterfly's thorax warn predators that it remains highly toxic.
Edwardian naturalist Albert Meek first recorded it in 1906 on a collecting expedition to PNG. The fast-flying butterfly frequents high rainforest canopy so Meek resorted to blasting them down by shotgun.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.
Queen Alexandra's are currently classified as an appendix 1 species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites), which prohibits their trade as specimens for overseas collectors. With no legal trade, an illegal black market keep the specimens in demand. In Winged Obsession: Chasing the Illegal Trade (2011), journalist Jessica Speart tells of a jailed butterfly trader who was offering pairs of Queen Alexandra's illegally smuggled out of PNG for more than $8,500 (£5,400).
Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk
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