Twin Butterfly Postcard

These two newly awakened butterflies at the Tucson, Arizona Botanical Gardens are taking a moment on a green leafy background to figure out what their next step into the world should be. Both are male Priamus Birdwings (Ornithoptera priamus), which is native to Indonesia, New Guinea, and northern Australia. They each have yellow abdomens, and are standing with their wings up and closed. At the black edge of the wing is a light green stripe, showing what lies on the upper side of the wings. The rest of the wing that faces us has white, yellow and light green spots on a black background. At the top edge of their wings we can just see a bit of black and mint green, the colours of the top surface of the wings. The head, antennae and legs are mostly black, with a red patch behind the edge. At the lower left edge of the green and black background are the words, "Twin Birdwings" in black italic lettering. Copyright Gail Storrs 2007.