Description
For terms see External morphology of Lepidoptera.
Female. Female Queen Alexandra's Birdwings are larger than males with markedly rounder, broader wings. The female can reach a wingspan of 31 cm (12.2 inches), a body length of 8 cm (3.2 inches) and a body mass of up to 12 grams (0.42 oz), all enormous measurements for a butterfly. The female has brown wings with white markings arranged as two rows of chevrons.The hindwings are brown with a submarginal line of centered yellow triangles.The body is cream-coloured and there is a small section of red fur on the brown thorax.
Male.There is sexual dimorphism in this species. The wings are long with angular apices. They are iridescent bluish-green with a black central band. There is a pronounced sex brand. The underside is green or blue-green with black veins.Males are smaller than females.The abdomen is bright yellow. The wingspan of the males is approximately 20 cm, but more usually about 16 cm. A spectacular form of the male is form atavus, which has gold spots on the hind wings.
Read more about this topic: Ornithoptera Alexandrae
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