Скачать или смотреть Birdwing butterflies mate in Meghalaya - rare and beautiful sight

Birdwing butterflies are the largest of all Australian butterflies. The male Birdwing is brightly coloured with green, gold and black,
and is smaller than the female. The larger female Birdwing is black and white, with yellow markings on the hindwings. She has a wingspan of up to 20 cm.

Throngs of Birdwing butterflies can be seen around Aristolochia
acuminata or Pararistolochia deltantha vines in summer in the
tropical rainforests. These vines are also called Dutchman’s Pipe
because of the shape of the flowers. The female Birdwing butterfly lays her eggs on the leaves of these two species of Aristolochia vines.

First, she locates the correct plants by ‘tasting’ various leaves with
chemical receptors in her forelegs. These receptors pick up
chemical cues from the leaves of the vine. She also uses sense organs at the end of her abdomen to find tender young leaves which will be suitable for caterpillar food. Aristolochia vines are poisonous. The Birdwing caterpillars use these plant poison for their own protection by storing the toxins in prominent fleshy orange-red spines on their backs. This colourful protection mechanism prevents birds from eating them. However, a South American vine called Aristolochia elegans produces very large and attractive flowers and has been introduced to Australia as an ornamental plant.

Unfortunately the female Birdwingbutterfly receives the correct chemical cues from the leaves of this vine, and is fooled into laying her eggs on it. However, caterpillars cannot cope with the toxins and are eventually poisoned and killed by this species of Aristolochiavine. This invasive plant is spreading from gardens into the natural environment and is endangering the future of the beautiful Birdwings.

When Birdwing caterpillars are almost ready to pupate, they ringbark the vines on which they are feeding. This causes the leaves to droop through loss of water, but does not stop nutrient flow.

In the early mornings, they patrol around the vine’s base in search
of freshly emerging females. The males mate with the females just
after they have emerged from the pupa, even before their wings are
dry. So at a very young age, the female Birdwing is ready to start
laying eggs and repeats the life cycle again for the next generation.

Source: www.wettropics.gov.au/site/user-assets/docs/birdwingbutterflies.pdf

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