‘Golden Birdwing’ dethrones ‘Southern Birdwing’ to become the largest Butterfly in India

In 1932, British Army officer Brigadier William Harry Evans (also a Lepidopterist: a person who studies or collects butterflies and moths) had recorded a Southern Birdwing (Troides minos) butterfly with 190 mm. Since then, for the last 88 years, Southern Birdwing butterfly is considered the largest butterfly in India. Brigadier Evans measured the butterfly from the centre of the thorax to the tip of forewing apex, the outcome of measurement was then doubled to obtain the exact measurement.

• Recently, new measurements of a Himalayan butterfly named ‘Golden Birdwing (Troides Aeacus)’ and 24 other species of butterfly were published in the BIONOTES (It is a quarterly newsletter that published Research Notes and News related to various aspects of life forms). 
• This new measurement study was done by Peter Smetacek (from Butterfly Research Centre in Nainital districts’ Bhimtal town) and Shistee Panthee (from University of Chinese Academy of Science in China’s Yunnan Province).
• As per the study, based on the length of wingspan, Golden Birdwing is the largest butterfly in India.

Highlights from the new Measurements found by the Study

• The female species of the Golden Birdwing had a wingspan of 194 mm that is 4 mm larger than that of the Southern Birdwing with 190 mm wingspan.
• The largest wingspan in the male species of the Golden Birdwing was recorded during the study was of 106 mm.
• The female Golden Birdwing with 194 mm wingspan was recorded at Uttarakhand’s  Pithoragarh district’s Didihat town, while the male Golden Birdwing with 106 mm wingspan was recorded at the Wankhar Butterfly Museum (in Shillong).