Queen Alexandra's birdwing
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.
| Queen Alexandra's birdwing | |
|---|---|
| Female (above) and male (below), not to scale | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Papilionidae |
| Genus: | Ornithoptera |
| Subgenus: | Straatmana Deslisle, 2007 |
| Species: | O. alexandrae |
| Binomial name | |
| Ornithoptera alexandrae (Rothschild, 1907) | |
| Synonyms | |
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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.
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