SPECIES Ornithoptera croesus female
ORIGIN Indonesia
FRAME 21.5x24.5xD5cm Made from recycled products.
DESCRIPTION AKA Wallace's Golden birdwing.
Wallace's golden birdwing butterfly (Ornithoptera croesus) was collected by the famed naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace in Bacan Island, Indonesia and named by him in 1859. He writes the following about his capture of this species in his book The Malay Archipelago: “The beauty and brilliancy of this insect are indescribable, and none but a naturalist can understand the intense excitement I experienced when I at length captured it. On taking it out of my net and opening the glorious wings, my heart began to beat violently, the blood rushed to my head, and I felt much more like fainting than I have done when in apprehension of immediate death. I had a headache the rest of the day, so great was the excitement produced by what will appear to most people a very inadequate cause.”
The main threat to this butterfly is habitat loss and through the establishment of captive breeding facilities in Indonesia the wild population is protected and more about their biology is documented. The female colour is grayish / black and golden yellow.
As they are a natural product please note some markings may vary from image shown.
Strictly limited item.
Why is this so expensive? - Cost of the actual butterfly and permit is expensive. Due to permit restrictions, it can take up to 8-10 months for us to receive limited stock. Birdwings take us three months to process as they are a large species which require a longer setting time to set properly. Not all sellers may set for this period of time. Be aware that you cannot import any birdwing into Australia without appropriate permits.
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DUE TO PERMIT RESTRICTIONS WE ARE UNABLE TO SELL THIS ITEM OUTSIDE OF AUSTRALIA.
PLEASE NOTE FOR DOMESTIC SUPPLY ONLY. Imported with CITES permit.
