Last year I planted a native Dutchman's Pipe,
Aristolochia tagala (host plant for the Cairns Birdwing Butterfly,
Ornithoptera euphorion) with little hope that it would actually get any visits. What a surprise one sunny Saturday morning earlier this year when a lone female flitted across the garden directly to the vine, followed within a few weeks by the noticeable decline in the number of leaves on the plant.
What follows are a series of photos taken of the caterpillars, chrysalis and butterflies successfully raised on the vine this year. Next year, more vines!
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| First instar caterpillar recently hatched. |
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| Second instar caterpillar. |
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| Caterpillar molting |
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| Spiracles, used for breathing. |
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| Red tubules on the caterpillar's head inflate from time to time, for example when it's aggravated. |
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| Chrysalis. I noticed these blacken about 1-2 days before emergence. |
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| Male birdwing emerging. My two males both emerged at 31 days. Two females emerged at 27 days, 1 at 29 days. |
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| Newly emerged male birdwing. Wings are still crumpled. |
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| Female birdwing, recently emerged. |
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| Wing of male birdwing, recently emerged. |
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| Female birdwing, recently emerged. Note the liquid lense within the proboscis. |
More of my Cairns Birdwing photos are at my
Cairns Birdwing imgur gallery.
Photos taken with a Canon Rebel T3i/EOS 600D digital SLR and Canon 100 mm macro lens.
