This beautifull colony male from butterfly Troides brookiana trogon (Vollenhoven, 1860) have captured at Rejang land. Troides brookiana first time described by Wallace 1855 and sub species from sumatra describe by Vollenhoven and give name as Papilio Trogon Vollenhoven 1860. For modern taxonomy now this sub species named as Troides brookiana trogon (Vollenhoven, 1860).

Trogonoptera brookiana, also called Raja Brooke's Birdwing is a butterfly from Australasia / Indomalaya ecozone (Australia). The first description was in 1855 by Wallace. The wingspan is about 15 – 17 cm. This butterfly is a member of the family PAPILIONIDAE. Trogonoptera brookiana is black. It has a chain of green spots on the fore wings. The females are brown and have some white and green spots.

In rejang language butterfly call as ambai ambai (lebong regency) or kibat (kepahiang regency).

Description

The fore wings are black. At the outer edge there is a chain of big, acuminate, green spots.
The underside of Trogonoptera brookiana is dark-brown. There are some short, green lines in the middle of the wing. Next to the body there are two blue lines.

The hind wings of Trogonoptera brookiana are black. Next to the body there is a big, green area. The veins are black and they cleave the green area.
The underside is dark-brown. At the outer edge there is a chain of white spots. These spots have a black core.

The body (abdomen) is brown. Head and thorax are black. The nape and the underside of thorax have a red hair-coat.

Sex differences: The female covers the upper range of the wing-span. The basic colour of the female is brown. In the wing tip there is a white area. The veins are brown. There is a green and blue area on the hind wings. On the underside there are some blue, green and white spots.

Distribution

Trogonoptera brookiana (Raja Brooke's Birdwing) is a butterfly from the Australasia / Indomalaya (Australia) ecozone. The distribution is restricted on Malaysia and Indonesia.

Larval food

Aristolochiaceae:

Aristolochia acuminata
Aristolochia foveolata

General information

The first description of this butterfly was in 1855 by Wallace. There are three subspecies.

Trogonoptera brookiana albescens [Rothschild, 1895]
Trogonoptera brookiana natunensis [Rothschild]
Trogonoptera brookiana trogon [Vollenhoven, 1860]

Trogonoptera brookiana is, like all other Birdwings a true miracle of nature. This butterfly is strictly protected. It is listed in the appendix II from CITES.