Butterflies delight and amaze us with their colors and chaotic (looking) flight. I am fortunate to live in a small town near fields that are covered in wildflowers in the spring, so I see many butterflies. The largest I see are swallowtails, which typically have a 3-5 inch wingspan.
The largest butterfly in the world is Queen Alexandra’s birdwing, which can measure 10-11 inches across. That’s one big butterfly! They are also among the rarest and most endangered butterflies.
These beautiful critters live in a very small part of Papua New Guinea. Because they’re so rare, collectors (who don’t care about actual LIVE butterflies) might pay 8-10K for a specimen.
As bad as that is, it’s the loss of habitat that is concerning:
Far more pressing is its relentless habitat destruction, as old-growth rainforest is devastated to make way for palm oil plantations. Despite being an incredibly efficient oil crop, producing more oil per acre than any other, palm oil is grown in some of the last bastions of biodiversity in the tropics and is responsible for the reduction of the birdwing's habitat to a measly 100 square kilometre; each kilometre having as few as ten females within it. And it’s no good just planting more trees – at least not immediately; this butterfly relies on primary forest. That is, mature, old-growth trees; these, two are sought after, and the timber industry is another significant threat to their habitat. (factanimal.com)
The species is endangered and one of only four insects to be listed on Appendix I of CITES, making commercial international trade illegal. The other three insects listed are butterflies as well.
CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of international trade. It was drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The convention was opened for signature in 1973 and CITES entered into force on 1 July 1975. (Wikipedia)
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