Ornithoptera priamus, commonly known as the common green birdwing, Cape York Birdwing, Priam's Birdwing or Northern Birdwing, is a widespread species of birdwing butterfly found in the central and south Moluccas, New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago, Solomon Islands, and northeast Australia.[1]
The specific name of Ornithoptera priamus, is named after Priam (/ˈpraɪ.əm/, Greek Πρίαμος Priamos), the king of Troy during the Trojan War.
Male. The upperside fore wings are velvety black. There is a green (most races) subcostal stripe and a green (most subspecies) marginal stripe bordering the termen, tormen and dorsum of the wing. The sex brand is black and longish. The underside of the forewing is black. There is a chain of bluish or green postdiscal spots.
The hind wings are green. At the wing leading edge (costa) there is a basal yellow-gold spots. There is also a postdiscal chain of black spots. The edge of the hind wing is black.
The underside is dark-green or bluish. The yellow - golden spots are transparent. The veins are partly black and the marginal edge of wing is black. At the outer edge there is a postdiscal chain of black spots.
The body (abdomen) is yellow. Head and thorax are black. The underside of thorax has a red hair-coat.
Mounted Ornithoptera priamus urvilleanus female with pupa to the right
Female: Ornithoptera priamus is sexually dimorphic. The female is larger than the male and in the upper range of the wing-span. The basic colour of the female is dark-brown. There is a chain of white postdiscal spots on the fore wings. There is a chain of larger white postdiscal spots with dark centres on the hindwing. The underside is very similar to the upper.
Larva: First instar larvae are wine-red on hatching. They soon turn black or dark brown. All segments have soft tubercles with stiff ends bearing black spines. On segment 4th tubercles are red. The tubercles are dark brown on the other segments. In the second instar the tubercles lack spines, the 4th tubercles are light red and on the other segments they are the same colour as the body.In the third instar there is a white to pink saddlemark on the 4th segment. In the fourth and fifth instars the ground colou is ashy-grey to brown, the saddlemark on the 4th segment is white and the tubercles on the 4th segment are white. There may be saddlemarks on the 5th segment and the 5th segment. The tips of the tubercle are black and the osmeterium is dark red.
Pupa: The pupa is yellowish-green or brown and is marked with greyish veins as in a leaf. It may have a broad dorsal pale saddle mark. The abdomen has 8 pairs of sharp dorsal processes, directed laterally.
Ornithoptera priamus is a variable species. There have been as many as 99 subspecies described (most of which are synonyms of O. priamus poseidon), with many more named variants and forms described for both sexes.
As in other species of the genus Ornithoptera, the females are larger and less vividly coloured than the males, them being mainly blackish or dark brown with patterns in pale brown, yellow or white. Nonetheless, females are extremely variable, and they may have colour patterns similar to females of other Ornithoptera species.
In males, iridescent areas of the wing are typically green, although some subspecies endemic to island groups east of New Guinea have blue males. These subspecies are O. priamus urvilleanus (New Ireland, Bougainville, and Solomon Islands), O. priamus miokensis (Mioko Island), and O. priamus caelestis (Louisiade Archipelago).[2]
However, it is likely that O. priamus miokensis is actually a hybrid between O. priamus urvillenaus and O. priamus bornemanni from the neighbouring islands of New Britain and Bougainville. Specimens of this subspecies are variable, and can be identical to specimens of either parent, or intermediates. Immigration may also explain its rarity, as Mioko is a small island and, as of 2001, its hostplants had been reduced to a few Aristolochia tagala vines growing in a local village.
Ornithoptera priamus was originally described from Seram Island, Indonesia. Some list as few as five subspecies (excluding nominal),[3] but a taxonomic review is needed and most recognise more:[1]
O. p. admiralitatis - Admiralty Islands and nearby smaller islands, Papua New Guinea
O. p. albiro - Tayandu Islands, Indonesia (possible junior synonym of O. p. hecuba)
O. p. arruana - Aru Islands, Indonesia
O. p. aureus - Arfak Mountains of West Papua, Indonesia (possible junior synonym of O. p. poseidon)
O. p. boisduvali - Woodlark Island, Papua New Guinea
O. p. bornemanni - New Britain and nearby smaller islands, Papua New Guinea
O. p. caelestis - Louisiade Archipelago, Papua New Guinea
O. p. demophanes - D'Entrecasteaux and Trobriand Islands, Papua New Guinea
O. p. garainaensis - vicinity of Garaina, Papua New Guinea? (possible junior synonym of O. p. poseidon)
O. p. gebeensis - Gebe Island, Indonesia
O. p. hecuba - Kai Islands, Indonesia
O. p. impensis - Manipa Island, Indonesia
O. p. kassandra - Yapen Island of West Papua, Indonesia
O. p. macalpinei - Iron and McIlwraith Ranges of Queensland, Australia (possible junior synonym of O. p. poseidon)
O. p. miokensis - Mioko Island, Papua New Guinea
O. p. poseidon - New Guinea and northern Torres Strait Islands
O. p. priamus - Seram, Saparua and Ambon, Indonesia
O. p. pronomus - southern Torres Strait Islands of Queensland, Australia (possible junior synonym of O. p. poseidon)
O. p. sterrensis - Mt. Sterren of West Papua, Indonesia (possible junior synonym of O. p. poseidon)
O. p. teucrus - Biak and Supiori of West Papua, Indonesia
O. p. wituensis - Vitu Islands, Papua New Guinea (possible junior synonym of O. p. bornemanni)
O. p. urvillianus - New Ireland and Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands