Cairns Birdwing Butterfly

The Cairns Birdwing (Ornithoptera euphorion) is a species of birdwing butterfly endemic to northeastern Australia, and is Australia's largest endemic butterfly species. Other common names include Cooktown Birdwing and Northern Birdwing. The name Cairns in its common name is a reference to the Australian city in the region where this butterfly is found

Butterflies will only lay their eggs on the specific plant for that species . The aristolochia vine is the food plant for the Cairns Birdwing butterfly.

The brown female Cairns birdwing lays its eggs under the leaves on this plant, and the caterpillar will hatch out in a matter of days and begin eating.

Aristolochia tagala is a poisonous plant, and as a result of eating it , the caterpillar becomes poisonous for birds to eat.

The Cairns Birdwing caterpillar displays warning colours to announce it is not edible