National Geographic

INDONESIAAUSTRALIAASIAPHILIPPINESAUSTRALIAASIAJAMAICANORTHAMERICA``````SOUTHAMERICAFemaleFemaleFemaleMaleMaleMaleHOMERUS SWALLOWTAILPapilio homerus``````LUZON PEACOCKSWALLOWTAILPapilio chikae``````WALLACE'S GOLDEN BIRDWINGOrnithoptera croesus``````Host plantHernandiacatalpifoliagaudichaudiiEuodia glaucaAll otherbutterfliesshown at halfactual size.``````Actual sizeof largestO. alexandraeWinged Desire on recordOf the planet’s roughly 20,000 species of butter-flies, swallowtails are especially intriguing tocollectors. The more than 560 swallow tails includethe world’s largest butterflies—birdwings—andsome of the most expensive and threatened (fiveare shown here). They face a triple menace ofhabitat loss, climate change, and poaching. Thanksto conservation programs and anti-poaching laws,swallowtails are surviving despite a black marketwhere prices start in the pennies and run intothe thousands for protected species.``````Named after the Greekpoet Homer. Featured onJamaican postage stamps.``````Discovered in 1965; tradersoften mislabel this species toelude law enforcement.``````Named after the famed nat-uralist, who nearly fainted atfirst sight of its beauty.