• Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing, the largest butterfly in the world, has a wingspan of 30cm—at least 10 times the size of common butterflies
• Scramble for producing more palm oil is leading to rampant clearing of forests—natural habitat of birdwing butterfly
• Papua New Guinea is home to three out of the top 10 endangered species of shallowtail and birdwing butterflies
• New Guinea, which is the world’s second largest island, has an ideal climate for palm production, with Indonesia occupying the western half of the island and Papua New Guinea forming the island’s eastern side. Palm oil producers in the western part are fast expanding into Papua New Guinea to reach the goal of producing 40 million metric tonnes by 2020.

Three endangered species in Papua New Guinea

• The same region, whose landscape is undergoing a rapid change, is home to three out of the top 10 endangered species of shallowtail and birdwing butterflies.
• While Queen Alexandra’s birdwing is considered endangered by the IUCN, Papilio moerneri is one of the rarest and least known of all Papua New Guinea Swallowtail butterflies that has not been seen since 1924.
• The Southern Tailed Birdwing is also considered vulnerable. Habitat alteration due to volcanic eruption in the 50s and habitat destruction for oil palm plantations are key reasons why they are pushed to the brink of extinction.

New conservation project

• Fortunately, a new initiative is coming to the rescue of these beautiful winged creatures. The Swallowtail and Birdwing Butterfly Trust (SBBT), led by entomologists and conservationists, has been established to conserve and protect butterflies of Papilionidae family globally. Its first project is Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing.
• With funding from the Malaysia-based Sime Darby Foundation (SDF), the SBBT is trying to create a state-of-the-art captive breeding and release facility in New Britain Palm Oil Limited (NBPOL)’s Higaturu palm oil estate—the heart of the butterfly’s home. The captive breeding and release programme will be accompanied by habitat enrichment and protection of remaining forest areas around oil palm plantations.
•  “Sustainable conservation requires high quality, practical, on-the-ground conservation, with local communities and business working in partnership,” says Mark Collins, chairman of SBBT and ex-director of the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre.
• The SBBT, according to its official website, is providing technical, scientific and international support for “studying the best areas to release the butterflies in the forests surrounding the palm oil estates, cultivating vines in those areas, and making sure there are supplies of the butterflies’ favourite food plant, the Dutchman’s pipe”.

Source:Down to earth