This lifeform is found in New Guinea.

Ornithoptera paradesea is found on the island of New Guinea. The subspecies paradisea is found in northeastern New Guinea. The subspecies arfakensis is found on the western part of New Guinea which is now part of Indonesia. This birdwing is very unusual because the male has a fragile tail on each rear wing.

Birdwings (Ornithoptera Group) contain the largest and most spectacular species of butterflies. They are considered a very primitive group of swallowtails. Because of their great size and bold colors, many of the forms are frequently used in decorative projects. The Ornithoptera group is found from India through the Malay area through Indonesia to New Guinea and north Australia. No species in this group is found in Africa or the New World.  

The following is a list of the species in this group (an * indicates that this species is pictured):

   SPECIES                         LOCATION

   Aetheoptera alexandrae*         East New Guinea
   Aetheoptera victoriae*          Solomon Islands
   Ornithoptera aeasacus*          Obi Isle
   Ornithoptera allotei*           Solomon Islands
   Ornithoptera croessus*          Halmahera, etcetera
   Ornithoptera goliath*           New Guinea, etcetera
   Ornithoptera meridionalis*      New Guinea
   Ornithoptera paradisea*           New Guinea
   Ornithoptera priamus*             New Guinea, Solomons, etcetera
   Ornithoptera rothschildi*         Arfak
   Ornithoptera tithonus*            New Guinea
   Trogonoptera brookiana*           Malaysia, etcetera
   Trogonoptera trojana*             Palawan
   Troides aeacus*                   India, Malay, China
   Troides amphrysus*                Malaysia, etcetera
   Troides andromache*               Borneo
   Troides criton*                   Indonesia, New Guinea
   Troides cuneifera*                Java and Malaysia
   Troides darsius*                  Ceylon
   Troides haliphron*                Celebes

   Troides helena*                   India, Malay, etcetera
   Troides hypolitus*                Celebes, etcetera
   Troides magellanus*               North Philippines and Taiwan
   Troides minos                     West and southwest India
   Troides miranda*                  Sumatra
   Troides oblongomaculatus*         New Guinea, etcetera
   Troides plato*                    Timor
   Troides prattorum*                Buru
   Troides rhadamanthus*             Philippines
   Troides (rhadamanthus) plateni*   Palawan
   Troides (rhadamanthus) dohertyi*  Indonesia
   Troides riedeli*                  Tanimbar
   Troides staudingeri               Babar (east of Timor)
   Troides vanderpoli*               Northwest Java and west Sumatra

Family Papilionidae (Swallowtails), Papilio family, contains about five hundred and fifty different species with perhaps a new species still being discovered every two or three years. Many species are sexually dimorphic in that the females do not look like the males. A common example of this is the Tiger Swallowtail of North America where the males are always yellow and black and the females can be either yellow and black or occasionally a blue color.

Swallowtails are usually medium to large species and strong fliers. They are unusual in that the adults have six fully developed legs. Many newer families of butterflies have only four well-developed legs with the front two legs being very underdeveloped.

Butterfly scientists are attracted to this group, and high prices are paid for the largest and the rarest kinds. Most of the species are bred locally on a hobby-business basis to fill the demand.

The Queen Alexander might be extinct. Although this species has been protected, the damage seems to have been done by land clearing projects which took away its natural habitat. The number of specimens in collections seems to be so small that collectors cannot be blamed for this extinction. There are probably less than ten collections in the United States that have over five hundred different species of Papilionidae.

Butterflies and Moths (Order Lepidoptera) are a group of insects with four large wings. They go through various life cycles including eggs, caterpillar (larvae), pupae, and adult. Most butterflies and moths feed as adults, but primarily do most of their growing in the larval or caterpillar stage. Also, most species are restricted to feeding as caterpillars upon a unique set of plants. In this pairing of insects to plants, there arises a unique plant population control system. When one plant species becomes too common, specific pests to that species also become more common and thus prevent the further spreading of that particular plant species.

Although most people think of the Lepidoptera as two different groups: butterflies and moths, technically, the concept is not valid.

Some families, such as Silk Moths (Saturnidae) and Hawk Moths (Sphingidae), are clearly moths. Other families, such as Swallowtail Butterflies (Papilionidae), are clearly butterflies, However, several families exhibit characteristics that appear to be neither moths nor butterflies. For example: the Castnia Moths of South America are frequently placed in the Skipper Family (Hesperidae). The Sunset Moths (Uranidae) have long narrow antennae and fly during the day.

Note: Numerous museums and biologists have loaned specimens to be photographed for this project.

Insects (Class Insecta) are the most successful animals on Earth if success is measured by the number of species or the total number of living organisms. This class contains more than a million species, of which North America has approximately 100,000.

Insects have an exoskeleton. The body is divided into three parts. The foremost part, the head, usually bears two antennae. The middle part, the thorax, has six legs and usually four wings. The last part, the abdomen, is used for breathing and reproduction.

Although different taxonomists divide the insects differently, about thirty-five different orders are included in most of the systems.

The following abbreviated list identifies some common orders of the many different orders of insects discussed herein:

   Odonata:      Dragon and Damsel Flies
   Orthoptera:   Grasshoppers and Mantids
   Homoptera:    Cicadas and Misc. Hoppers
   Diptera:      Flies and Mosquitoes
   Hymenoptera:  Ants, Wasps, and Bees
   Lepidoptera:  Butterflies and Moths
   Coleoptera:   Beetles

Jointed Legged Animals (Phylum Arthropoda) make up the largest phylum. There are probably more than one million different species of arthropods known to science. It is also the most successful animal phylum in terms of the total number of living organisms.

Butterflies, beetles, grasshoppers, various insects, spiders, and crabs are well-known arthropods.

The phylum is usually broken into the following five main classes:

   Arachnida:      Spiders and Scorpions
   Crustacea:      Crabs and Crayfish
   Chilopoda:      Centipedes
   Diplopoda:      Millipedes
   Insecta:        Insects

There are several other "rare" classes in the arthropods that should be mentioned. A more formal list is as follows:

   Sub Phylum Chelicerata

     C. Arachnida:      Spiders and scorpions
     C. Pycnogonida:    Sea spiders (500 species)
     C. Merostomata:    Mostly fossil species

   Sub Phylum Mandibulata

     C. Crustacea:      Crabs and crayfish
      
   Myriapod Group

     C. Chilopoda:      Centipedes
     C. Diplopoda:      Millipedes
     C. Pauropoda:      Tiny millipede-like
     C. Symphyla:       Garden centipedes

   Insect Group

     C. Insecta:        Insects

The above list does not include some extinct classes of Arthropods such as the Trilobites.

Animal Kingdom contains numerous organisms that feed on other animals or plants. Included in the animal kingdom are the lower marine invertebrates such as sponges and corals, the jointed legged animals such as insects and spiders, and the backboned animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.