12 Biggest Butterflies In The World

Biggest Butterflies are one of the most amazing animal species known for their vibrant Coloring, beautiful flight patterns etc. Butterflies are also important for maintaining the ecosystem as they are the world’s second-largest pollinators. There is a huge variety of butterflies found across the world found in a variety of sizes. Ranging from the magnificent largest butterfly of the world i.e. The Queen Alexandra’s birdwing to numerous other species there are some of the most striking and attention-grabbing butterflies in the world. So, here is a list of the biggest butterflies in the world.

Biggest Butterflies In The World

1. The Queen Alexandra’s birdwing- Total Wingspan: 11 Inches

With a wingspan of about 11 inches, the majestic Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing is the largest butterfly in the world. This incredibly beautiful butterfly species is mainly native and restricted to the forest of the Oro province in Eastern Papua New Guinea and has also been listed as endangered. One of the biggest animals in the world is found in a variety of colors ranging from bluish-green and blackish Brown. Also, the underside is generally green or bluish-green with black veins and has long wings with angular apices. It is worth mentioning that this majestic butterfly species has been named after the Queen Alexandra of Denmark.

Also read: This Butterfly Is the First U.S. Insect to Be Wiped Out by Humans

Image Source: Wikimedia

2. The Goliath Birdwing- Total Wingspan: 10 to 11 Inches

Mainly found in New Guinea, The Goliath Birdwing is the second-largest butterfly in the world with a wingspan of about 11 inches. The butterfly species is named so because of its giant size and is known all over the world for its bizarre colouration. Also, the males have brightly coloured yellow and green wings while females have brown with creamy or yellowish wings with some brighter yellow markings. Moreover, this butterfly species is found in a very limited area of New Guinea with only five local subspecies. This species has also been rated as the second-most poisonous butterfly in the world.

Also Read: 10 Types Of Butterflies with pictures and info

Image Source: Thomas (Flickr)

3. The African Giant Swallowtail- Total Wingspan: 9.1 Inches

Distributed mainly across Central Africa, the African giant Swallowtail is a gregarious butterfly species found in mottled brown, black colour along with gorgeous Orange wings. Also, the wings are long and narrow exhibiting Orange-brown colour with black markings. This majestic butterfly species is mainly found inhabiting the moist, tropical broadleaf forests and are commonly found around the canopy. Moreover, it is a social species commonly found feeding on nectar in groups and in this species males are generally larger than females.

Also read: 10 Beautiful Butterflies In The World

Image Source: Wikimedia

4. Buru Opalescent Birdwing- Total Wingspan: 7.9 Inches

Buru Opalescent Birdwing is a magnificent butterfly species exclusively found on the majestic Indonesian island of Buru. They are generally found at a higher elevation of about 1300 to 1600 metres. It is a gregarious species and is yellowish black in colour with white highlights along the veins in their wings giving, a gorgeous look. However, it has been listed as endangered and has been pushed into the category of vulnerable due to habitat loss.

Also Read: 10 Biggest Spiders In The World

Image Source: Wikimedia

5. Rippon’s Birdwing- Total Wingspan: 7.9 Inches

Rippon’s birdwing is more or less related to similar varieties of bird wings in terms of size and colour, but it also has some unique features. Rippon’s Birdwing is a majestic butterfly species widely spread across Indonesia. It has a wingspan of about 20 cm and is yellowish black in colour with white highlights on the veins and lower wings. Also, it has a change of Golden spots on the hindwings. Moreover, females are dark brown and generally bigger than males.

Image Source: Amgueddfa Cymru

6. Wallace’s Golden Birdwing- Total Wingspan: 7.5 Inches

Mainly known for its rich, deep shades of yellow and orange patches on its wing, Wallace’s Golden Birdwing is a magnificent butterfly species, named in honour of Alfred Russel Wallace, it’s a discoverer. This brilliant and beautiful butterfly species is mainly found in Indonesia has been categorized as “Near Threatened”. Males generally have black wings with a yellow costal band while females have round wings marked with the lines of yellow chevrons. Also, females are generally larger than males.

Also read: 10 Purple Animals in the World

Image Source: Wikimedia

7. Palawan Birdwing- Total Wingspan: 7.5 Inches

The Palawan Birdwing scientifically known as Trogonoptera trojana is a birdwing butterfly that belongs to the family Papilionidae. The butterfly species is endemic to the Philippines. The male species can be identified easily with the help of large green markings on the hindwings. The avarage wingspan of the species is 7.1–7.5 inches. The larvae feed on Aristolochia and they can see flying at any part of the year.

8. Chimaera Birdwing- Total Wingspan: 7.1 Inches

Inhabiting mainly the rainforest of Indonesia, Chimaera Birdwing is a majestic butterfly species mainly found in green black colour with some patches of golden on its lower wings. Also, males have black forewings while females have dark Brown forewings and females are generally larger than males. It is mainly found at an elevation of about 2800 meters and is mainly concentrated around the central range montane rainforest where this majestic butterfly species tend to flutter around the tree canopy often forming large groups.

Also Read: 10 Beautiful Types of Yellow Butterflies In The World

Image Source: Wikimedia

9. Magellan Birdwing- Total Wingspan: 7.1 Inches

Mainly found in the Philippines and Taiwan, Magellan Birdwing is a beautiful bird species that is generally black in colour with yellow patches on the wings. It is a large and striking birdwing butterfly named after its discoverer the Ferdinand Magellan. Belonging to the family of the birdwing group of butterflies, both males and females have vibrant colouration. Also, the larvae have a unique look with five longitudinal lines of thick spine-like structures coming out of its body. Moreover, they are commonly found in closed habitats, mossy forests and some montane forests feeding on flower nectar.

Image Source: Wikimedia

10. Miranda Birdwing- Total Wingspan: 6.5 Inches

Inhabiting mainly the Sumatra and Borneo, the Miranda Birdwing is one of the largest butterfly species in the world. It is a majestic species found black and yellow-green colour and has a wingspan of about 17 cm. It also has white highlighted spots on the veins and also on the lower wings. Moreover, females are generally larger than males. However, the population of this species is declining due to habitat destruction.

Image Source: Wikimedia

12. Lesser Batwing Butterfly- Total Wingspan: 6.4 Inches

The lesser batwing butterfly scientifically known as Atrophaneura Aidoneus is an Asian species of butterfly that belongs to the batwings group of Atrophaneura. The unique part is that it comprises tailless black swallowtail butterflies. The total wingspan of the butterfly species is between 112–162 mm.

The male species of the butterfly can be identified with the help of a colour that is bluish-black and unmarked, however, the female species can be identified with the colour of grey-brown. The butterfly species were seen in the regions of northern India, Bhutan, Burma, northern Vietnam, northern Laos, southern China, however, in India it is limited to Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur and Nagaland.

Image Source: Vijay Anand Ismavel

12. The Homerus Swallowtail- Total Wingspan: 6 Inches

With a wingspan of about 6 inches, The Homerus Swallowtail is also one of the largest butterflies in the world and is only found in two areas of Jamaica that is the John Brown mountains and the cockpit country. It is a majestic butterfly species and is yellowish black in colour and is generally elongated in size. Its brown-black wings feature a large yellow band and blue entered sporting making the butterfly easy to spot from far away distance. However, this butterfly species are facing extinction due to the increased destruction of its habitat.