What it is
Queen Alexandra’s birdwing (Ornithoptera alexandrae) is the world’s largest butterfly. Females can exceed 25 cm in wingspan. It is endemic to a small part of Papua New Guinea. IUCN lists it as Endangered.
Range
Lowland rainforest in Oro Province, Papua New Guinea, where the larval food plant (a pipevine, Pararistolochia) still grows. It has no other country.
What happened
Oil-palm estates, logging, and collection for trade have cut and fragmented the forest it needs. The species is legally protected; habitat conversion is the lasting pressure. A large wingspan does not make a large range.
When / status
Endangered now. Endemic, and still losing forest.
Human role
Conversion of lowland forest and a collector market for a famous butterfly.
Sources
IUCN Red List (Ornithoptera alexandrae, EN).