The Goliath birdwing, Ornithoptera goliath, is one of the largest species of butterflies in the world. The males have the brightly colored yellows, golds and greens dominating their wings, while the females have a lot of brown, with cream or yellowish areas and some brighter yellow markings.

They live in New Guinea and some smaller nearby islands.

large brown butterfly with yellow crescents
Goliath birdwing, Ornithoptera goliath, female.
large black and yellow butterfly specimen
Goliath birdwing, Ornithoptera goliath, male.
Goliath birdwing, Ornithoptera goliath, wing scales. Florida Museum photo by Eric Zamora.
Goliath birdwing, Ornithoptera goliath, close-up. Florida Museum photo by Eric Zamora.
Goliath birdwing, Ornithoptera goliath, drawer. Florida Museum photo by Eric Zamora .

Learn more

Andrei Sourakov’s blog

McGuire Center for Lepidoptera & Biodiversity at the Florida Museum

Exhibit

Indoor Butterfly Exhibits