Mating Cairns Birdwing Butterflies."
This is my first entry for the KillerPix📷Contest #36 Theme: 'Butterflies."
The Cairns Birdwing Butterfly (Ornithoptera Euporion) is the largest of all Australian butterflies. They are found in north eastern areas of the country from Mackay to Cooktown. The male is characterized by their bold colours of green, gold and black, whereas the female is black and white with a little yellow and she is larger than her male counterpart with a wing span of up to 18 cms. These butterflies thrive in rainforest areas and they mate as soon as they are hatched as their life span is only 4 to 5 weeks.
The females seek out ideal vines using chemical receptors in their legs and abdomen which gives them the ability to sense tender, caterpillar friendly leaves. Newly hatched caterpillars consume their own egg shell for their nutritious qualities. The bright colours of the caterpillars, act as a deterrent to 'would be' predators and they store toxins absorbed from pipe vines. This particular species was, at one time threatened due to wide scale clearance of native rainforest and the spread of exotic vines such as Dutchman's Pipe which happens to be lethal to the butterflies in their larval stage.
Thank you for viewing. Have a great day.
This is a curation bot for TeamNZ. Please join our AUS/NZ community on Discord.
For any inquiries/issues about the bot please contact @cryptonik.
wow amazing photo i love the patterns on the butterflies wings soo colorful! such a short lifespan they have. I hope you have a lovely day <3
Thank you Melissa. These Australian butterflies are very special I think. 😊
So beautiful my dear friend
Thank you kindly @yagoub It is lovely to hear from you again. Have a wonderful weekend.
Another great capture my friend. Have a great weekend! 😊
Thanks a lot Erika. I hope you are having a fabulous weekend too. xox
So far so good, thank you. :)
That’s good to hear Erika. 😊
Congratulations, Your Post Has Been Added To The Steemit Worldmap!
Author link: http://steemitworldmap.com?author=trudeehunter
Post link: http://steemitworldmap.com?post=killerpix-contest-36-mating-cairns-birdwing-butterflies
Want to have your post on the map too?
Thanks very much @steemitworldmap
Great timing to get the shot. Beautiful colours on the butterflies. That’s how they do it, eh. 😊
Yep! That's how they do it @redheadpei ........and they take their time about it too which was very beneficial for me as I was able to get a couple of great shots......and get a nature lesson for free too. (: Many thanks for your welcome support my friend.
Those mating butterflies are just stunning! What beautiful color patterns, you really should be the winner on this one. WOW!