Diary of a Cairns Birdwing Butterfly
(Ornithoptera Priamus Euphorion)
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Sal Badcock Studio & Gallery
Mission Beach, North Queensland, Australia
email Sal
Male Cairns Birdwing
Female Cairns Birdwing
It all starts with Mrs Birdwing (oh and of course Mr Birdwing as well) who lays her eggs on the Aristolochia vine (Dutchman's Pipe).
Appologies for the blurry pics, she just wouldn't keep still. Check out how her abdomin is curling around ready to lay the egg.
An egg!
Around four to five days after the fertilised egg has been laid, the caterpillar munches it's way out of it's shell, then turns around & eats the egg case. If the Mum has laid her egg on the right plant, the caterpillar then heads off to eat it's first meal. They have voracious appetites and just keep on chowing down on the leaves, these guys are real gannets.
This new skin has enough stretch in it to allow for a little more growth. During it's time as a caterpillar, it will repeat this process another three times. Often the new skin differs slightly in pattern or colour to the previous one.
When the caterpillar reaches the end of the 5th instar, a butterfly caterpillar will get ready to change by creating a silk thread around it's neck which it anchors to the leaf, it then attaches it's rear to leaf and lets go with all it's feet.
It then hangs suspended from the neck and rear. A day or two later, the head will dislodge and the skin will split open revealing the already complete pupa casing. The butterfly will form inside this case, and emerge around 4 weeks later.
Diary of our Birdwing (30 January - 23 February 2005)
Kim brought this fellow inside so we can watch what happens. (lucky we did as I think the green ants appear to have cleaned up the rest of the caterpillars).
31 January: True to the book, by the next morning, the head had detached and the skin had split to reveal the tough Chrysalis underneath. I looked around and found the head lying on the bench under the leaf. It was amazing, the head was totally intact, complete with eyes and mouth pieces.
The 'rope' around the neck is incredible. It looks just like a thick piece of cotton.
A week or so later and the leaf is dying off, but the chrysalis remains the same, the body has hardened slightly but is still softish, and the abdomen moves as if it is ticklish if you gently touch it.
The Chrysalis has gotten darker in colour and is quite hard now and there appears to be no movement if you 'tickle' it's belly. The leaf has dried up, we hope it will last the distance.
21 February: beginning week 4
Everything remains the same as last week. The Chrysalis is still a hard shell, the leaf is still hanging in there. Hopefully later this week we should see some action.
During the day and into the evening, the Chrysalis gradually became darker and darker in colour. Faint tinges of pinky yellow on the belly and vague hints of yellow and green across the back.
I heard a crackling sound, looked up and there was the most beautiful male butterfly emerging from its shell. His wings and body were totally soft and crumpled.
He wobbled his way trying to get a grip on the leaf, but because the leaf was dead, he couldn't. So I hung up a drink holder so he could grab the fabric. That sort of worked, then I got a dried stick and he climbed on that, I then took him outside and hung him on his vine.
For the first 1/2 hour, he rustled his wings around getting them straight, and flexing them, the wings were about 1/3 of their normal size.
Then he spent the next hour or so flexing and curling his Proboscis. Adult butterflies sip nectar and other liquids using a spiral, straw-like proboscis located on their head.
His grip on the plant is quite tenuous. Just rescued him off the ground, the ants were attacking him. I didn't watch him for 3 1/2 weeks to let him get eaten by ants.
We checked later on in the evening, and there is no sign of him. I guess he waited until right on dusk when he was good and ready to go.
What a fabulous experience it has been. We are so lucky to live in a place where we are able to witness such incredible marvels of nature.
Gives a new meaning to hair art
