Ornithoptera

The birdwings genus Ornithoptera comprises some of the largest and most beautiful butterflies in the World. The genus is distributed over southern parts of Asia to Australia. They are much sought after by collectors and a large number of species are considered threatened and given IUCN Red Data classification for protection. These are often depicted as the highlight to be seen during butterfly-tours of the region. They are of such great economic value that they are cultivated through a people's participative community insect farming initiative in Papua and New Guinea. The genus has a large number of endemic species and its representation in an area is a good indicator of the value of the region as a biodiversity of the world.

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