Golden birdwing

• Recently, a Himalayan butterfly known as Golden Birdwing (Troides aeacus) has been discovered as India’s largest butterfly after 88 years.

• It has replaced an unknown specimen which a british army officer Brigadier Evans had recorded in 1932.

Key highlights:

• The female was recorded from Didihat in Uttarakhand, the male was from the Wankhar Butterfly Museum in Shillong, Meghalaya.

• With a wingspan of 194 mm, the female of the species is marginally larger than the Southern Birdwing (190 mm).

• Earlier, the largest Indian butterfly that was recorded in 1932 was an individual of the Southern Birdwing (Troides minos), which was then treated as a subspecies of the Common Birdwing (Troides helena).

• However, the specimen that Evans measured was unknown and no other butterfly measured as much as the 190 mm that he recorded.

• The male Golden Birdwing is much smaller at 106 mm.

• The only measurement used in the study of Lepidoptera is wingspan in which butterflies are measured from the wing base to the tip.