Buru opalescent birdwing (Troides prattorum)

The upperside of a mounted specimen of a male Buru opalescent birdwing butterfly
The upperside of a mounted specimen of a male Buru opalescent birdwing butterfly

Buru opalescent birdwing fact file

Buru opalescent birdwing description

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumArthropoda
ClassInsecta
OrderLepidoptera
FamilyPapilionidae
GenusTroides (1)

Confined to the island of Buru, Indonesia (4), this huge and spectacular black and yellow butterfly is named for the unusual, opalescent gloss of the male’s hindwing (4) (5) (6). The hindwings are golden yellow and display a striking iridescent blue-green sheen when viewed at an angle (2) (4). The hindwing of the female Buru opalescent birdwing is mostly suffused with black, but an iridescent sheen may be present on the restricted yellow areas (7).

Size
Size: up to 12.7 cm (2)
Top

Buru opalescent birdwing biology

Buru Island has long remained relatively inaccessible, and very little is therefore known about the life-history of the Buru opalescent birdwing (4). However, there are certain biological characteristics known to be common to most, if not all, birdwing butterflies. The adults of all Troides species feed on the nectar of flowers, and the larvae on the leaves of Aristolochia and Pararistolochia plants (both in the family Aristolochiaceae) (8). The eggs are normally laid on these plants, and once the caterpillars hatch, they voraciously munch through the leaves around them. Feeding upon these plants also serves as a defensive mechanism, as they contain certain acids that make the caterpillars toxic and therefore unappealing to most predators (9). The caterpillars eventually pupate and undergo metamorphosis into adult butterflies, and may even manage to maintain this toxic acid in their tissues into adulthood (9). Troides birdwings typically pupate on the twigs or stems of plants close to the larval food plant or on the food plant itself (6).

Top

Buru opalescent birdwing range

As its common name implies, the Buru opalescent birdwing is endemic to Buru Island, Indonesia (4).

Top

Buru opalescent birdwing habitat

Known mostly from the mountain forests of the Buru’s interior, on the high plateau in the west and centre of the island (5) (7).

Top

Buru opalescent birdwing status

Classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List (1) and listed on Appendix II of CITES (3).

IUCN Red List species status – Vulnerable

Top

Buru opalescent birdwing threats

Major threats to Troides butterflies include deforestation due to logging and agricultural intensification, although since this is a moderate to high altitude species, it is probably at less risk than similar species at low elevations (10).

Top

Buru opalescent birdwing conservation

In the years between 1965 and 1979, Buru was a 'rehabilitation centre' for political prisoners, and entering the island was virtually impossible for foreign travellers (4). In addition, certain native tribes had a reputation for extreme aggression, which deterred potential collectors from visiting the island (6). Thus, the inaccessibility of the island has certainly been to the advantage of the Buru opalescent birdwing. Furthermore, its listing on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) helps protect this endemic butterfly from excessive trade to international collectors (3), and therefore over collection from the wild. In recent years, villagers have learned to farm the butterfly, and reared specimens are now available on the international market, reducing pressure on wild individuals (5).

View information on this species at the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre.

Top

Authentication

Authenticated (05/08/08) by John Tennent, Scientific Associate, Department of Entomology, The Natural History Museum, London.

Top

Glossary

Endemic
A species or taxonomic group that is only found in one particular country or geographic area.
Larvae
Stage in an animal’s lifecycle after it hatches from the egg. Larvae are typically very different in appearance to adults; they are able to feed and move around but usually are unable to reproduce.
Metamorphosis
An abrupt physical change from the larval to the adult form.
Pupate
The process of becoming a pupa, the stage of an insect’s development, when huge changes occur that reorganise the larval form into the adult form. In butterflies the pupa is also called a chrysalis.
Top

References

  1. IUCN Red List (May, 2008)
    http://www.iucnredlist.org
  2. Natural History Museum (July, 2006)
    http://piclib.nhm.ac.uk/piclib/www/image.php?img=47547&frm=ser&search=iridescent
  3. CITES (January, 2006)
    http://www.cites.org
  4. The World of Birdwing Butterflies (July, 2006)
    http://www.nagypal.net/ttpratto.htm
  5. Troides prattorum (July, 2006)
    http://home.att.net/~Bret71/T_prattorum.htm
  6. Haugum, J. and Low, A.M. (1985) A Monograph of the Birdwing Butterflies. Scandinavian Science Press, Klampenborg.
  7. Tennent, J. (2008) Pers. comm.
  8. Yen, S.H. and Yang, P.S. (2001) Illustrated Identification Guide to Insects Protected by the CITES and Wildlife Conservation Law of Taiwan. R.O.C. Council of Agriculture, Taiwan.
  9. Tree of Life Web Project (July, 2006)
    http://tolweb.org/tree?group=Papilionidae&contgroup=Papilionoidea
  10. Collins, N.M. and Morris, M.G. (1985) Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World. The IUCN Red Data Book, IUCN.

More »Related species

Common birdwing (Troides helena)Borneo birdwing (Troides andromache)Talaud black birdwing (Troides dohertyi)Ceylon birdwing (Troides darsius)Andamans swordtail (Graphium epaminondas)Swallowtail (Papilio esperanza)Hector's swallowtail butterfly (Papilio hectorides)Papilio (Papilio grosesmithi)

Please donate to ARKive today

Help us share the wonders of the natural world. Donate today!

Sign up to our newsletter

Get the latest wild news direct to your inbox.

Get involved

ARKive relies on its media donors to donate photos and videos. Can you help? There are plenty of other ways you can get involved too!

X
Close

Image credit

The upperside of a mounted specimen of a male Buru opalescent birdwing butterfly  
The upperside of a mounted specimen of a male Buru opalescent birdwing butterfly

© The Natural History Museum, London

The Natural History Museum Picture Library
Cromwell Road
London
SW7 5BD
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 207 942 5323
Fax: +44 (0) 207 942 5443
nhmpl@nhm.ac.uk
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/piclib

X
Close

Link to this photo

ARKive species - Buru opalescent birdwing (Troides prattorum) Embed this ARKive thumbnail link by copying and pasting the code below.

Terms of Use - The displayed thumbnail may be used as a link from your website to ARKive's online content for private, scientific, conservation or educational purposes only. It may NOT be used within Apps.

Read more about

X
Close

MyARKive

MyARKive offers the scrapbook feature to signed-up members, allowing you to organize your favourite ARKive images and videos and share them with friends.

X
Close

Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials

Copyright in this website and materials contained on this website (Material) belongs to Wildscreen or its licensors.

Visitors to this website (End Users) are entitled to:

  • view the contents of, and Material on, the website;
  • download and retain copies of the Material on their personal systems in digital form in low resolution for their own personal use;
  • teachers, lecturers and students may incorporate the Material in their educational material (including, but not limited to, their lesson plans, presentations, worksheets and projects) in hard copy and digital format for use within a registered educational establishment, provided that the integrity of the Material is maintained and that copyright ownership and authorship is appropriately acknowledged by the End User.

End Users shall not copy or otherwise extract, alter or manipulate Material other than as permitted in these Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials.

Additional use of flagged material

Green flagged material 

Certain Material on this website (Licence 4 Material) displays a green flag next to the Material and is available for not-for-profit conservation or educational use. This material may be used by End Users, who are individuals or organisations that are in our opinion not-for-profit, for their not-for-profit conservation or not-for-profit educational purposes. Low resolution, watermarked images may be copied from this website by such End Users for such purposes. If you require high resolution or non-watermarked versions of the Material, please contact Wildscreen with details of your proposed use.

Creative commons material

Certain Material on this website has been licensed to Wildscreen under a Creative Commons Licence. These images are clearly marked with the Creative Commons buttons and may be used by End Users only in the way allowed by the specific Creative Commons Licence under which they have been submitted. Please see http://creativecommons.org for details.

Any other use

Please contact the copyright owners directly (copyright and contact details are shown for each media item) to negotiate terms and conditions for any use of Material other than those expressly permitted above. Please note that many of the contributors to ARKive are commercial operators and may request a fee for such use.

Save as permitted above, no person or organisation is permitted to incorporate any copyright material from this website into any other work or publication in any format (this includes but is not limited to: websites, Apps, CDs, DVDs, intranets, extranets, signage, digital communications or on printed materials for external or other distribution). Use of the Material for promotional, administrative or for-profit purposes is not permitted.