Ornithoptera paradisea, the paradise birdwing, is a species of birdwing butterfly found in New Guinea. History Arnold Pagenstecher and Staudinger both described this butterfly, under different names and the first description by Staudinger was based on a manuscript sent to him by Pagenstecher who possessed specimens from the collection of D. Wolf von Schönberg in Naumburg who had acquired them from a colonist in the then German New Guinea. Pagenstecher's name is Schoenbergia schoenbergi and the year of publication also 1893. Robert Henry Fernando Rippon in his illustrated monograph Icones Ornithopterorum (1898 to 1906) attributes the name paradisea to both entomologists i.e. as Ornithoptera paradisea Pagenstecher and Staudinger. The holotype is held by Zoologische Staatssammlung München. which also holds the type of Ornithoptera schoenbergi Pagenstecher. The type locality is the Finisterre Range, New Guinea. The specific epithet paradisea, is the Persian word for paradise. Description Ornithoptera paradisea is a large butterfly with a wingspan ranging from 140 mm to 190 mm. As they are sexually dimorphic, males and females differ in the size, shape and colour of the wings. Male: Males have black forewings. The costal edge is black and there are two large, yellow gold and green bands. The underside of the male forewing is green with black veins and at the apex there is a black area. The hindwings are tiny triangles, golden and with thin tails. The inner edge of the hindwing is black and there is usually a green stripe between the golden area and the inner edge. The outer edge of the hindwing is usually green. The underside is very similar to the upperside but the inner edge is green and hairy. The hindwings have tails of uncertain selective origin. The only other tailed Ornithoptera is Ornithoptera meridionalis. The abdomen is yellow, the head and thorax are black and green. Female: O. paradisea is strongly sexually dimorphic and the significantly larger female covers the upper range of the wingspan. The basic colour is dark-brown. Two groups of white spots dominate the forewing and on the hindwings there is a white area with a yellow outer edge. Between these there is a chain of black spots. The underside is very similar to the upperside, but the colours are stronger. The abdomen is yellow, the head and thorax are black and green. Biology and life cycle The habitat is lowland or montane primary forest. Adult males fly