The World's Largest Butterfly:
Queen Alexandra's Birdwing
Queen Alexandra's Birdwing is the largest butterfly in the world, with a wingspan up to 1 foot (30 cm). This tropical butterfly is from the rainforest in northern Papua New Guinea. The caterpillars eat the pipevine plant, which contains poison; this makes the butterfly toxic to predators, which will get sick if they eat it. So they quickly learn to leave these huge butterflies alone.
The red shaded region of Papua New Guinea is lowland
rainforest, and is the habitat of Queen Alexandra's Birdwing
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Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Papilionidae
Genus: Troides
species: alexandrae
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The World's Largest Moth:
Atlas Moth
The Atlas Moth is found throughout the jungles of Southeast Asia, and particularly in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia. The Atlas Moth adult has a wingspan of 1 foot (30 cm). This moth is so big, it is often mistaken for a small bird when it is flying! The Atlas Moth's cocoon looks like a piece of fruit hanging from a tree. The moth uses the markings on its back, which resemble a snake, to scare away predators. The Atlas does all its eating as a larva; the adult moth has no mouth, and cannot eat.
The Atlas Moth is found in the jungles of Southeast Asia,
but is kept and bred by collectors around the world.
Here is a life-size black and white picture of an Atlas Moth you can colour. Save the picture and print it later.
(If you print from your browser, it won't fit on a page).
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