Papua New Guinea lies completely within the tropics, with its mainland and islands covering an area of some 461,700 square kilometres.

Situated just south of the Equator, it is approximately 160 kilometres north of Australia.

The mainland is divided by a massive mountain range which includes some of the highest peaks in the Pacific, rising to over 4000 metres.

To the north and south of the watershed flow great rivers, some navigable for hundreds of kilometres inland.Papua New Guinea is covered with tropical rainforests, with the exception of the intensely-farmed highland valleys. Like many of the islands, the mainland is protected by coral reefs while fine sandy beaches line the coast.

Other Topics: Birds of Paradise, Mera Kao Kao, Queen Alexandrae, Institutions, Stamps.

Papua New Guinea is home to many plants and animals not found anywhere else on Earth.

Thirty-three of the 38 birds of paradise found in New Guinea live here, more than any other country in the World.

They are an important part of our natural heritage and many help forests grow by spreading seeds of trees.

The picture on the right shows just a sampling of the many varieties on the magnificient Birds of Paradise.

1. Red Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea rubra)
2. Lesser Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea minor)*
3. Greater Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea apoda)*
4. Goldie's Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea decora)*
5. Raggiana Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea raggiana)*
6. Emperor Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea guiliemi)*
7. Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise (Seleucidis melanoleuca)*
8. Blue Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea rudolphi)*
9. Magnificient Riflebird (Ptiloris magnificus)*

The Queen Alexandrae Butterfly is acknowledged as the largest known butterfly in the world.

As recently as the turn of the century naturalists recorded and provided scientific description of this exotic birdwing species.

Uniqueness of this butterfly is its preference of restricted habitat within the Popondetta plains of Oro Province.

Although this butterfly type can vary considerably in size, the fact that some females can exceed 25 centimetres, from tip-to-tip of the front wings, when fully spread out surpasses other normal butterflies of its immense size.

The wings are largely black with whitish and light brown spots. Like all butterflies, the Queen Alexandrae has four life history stages: egg, larva (caterpillar),pupa (daryalid or chrysalis) and adults (see photo illustrated). The total development time from the time the egg is laid, to when the individual reaches adulthood, is about 120 days.

1. The eggs are laid on the underside of the leaves of the foodplant, a vine that grows in the bush. The larvae hatch after about ten days and their first action is to eat the empty egg case. Many eggs are parasitised by a tiny wasp which lays its eggs in the butterfly egg and whose larvae eat the contents.

2, 3. The caterpillars moult four times before reaching full size and their skin pattern changes from brown with a red band to a dark velvet brown with a white band and red-tipped soft spines. The larvae eat with tremendous appetite and wipe out leaves like a wet cloth cleaning a blackboard.

4. The double redmark above the head capsule is the tip of a concealed weapon called the osmetrium. When it is alarmed the caterpillar suddenly shoots out this red, forked organ which emits a nasty smell to warn off the attacker. The caterpillars are distasteful to predators because they have an unpleasant taste.

5. After about a month the full grown caterpillar spins itself a pad of black silk which it sticks to the underneath of a leaf. It anchors its back feet in this and then spins another one higher up, from which it suspends a strong loop. It puts its head in the loop and then slumps backward, suspended and quiet. After three or four days the larva moults for the last time. The skin splits and reveals a bright yellow, soft chrysalis.

In the last two decades, the Queen Alexandrae - occupied habitat experienced large area modification due to initiation of commercial logging and the beginning of Oil Palm plantation establishment.

Apparently this brought about site destruction that had previously been identified as key QAB habitat.

Other minor inclusions like human population growth with increased density and noticeable trend towards increase penetration of slash-and-burn agriculture into surrounding relatively undisturbed forests.

Despite IUCN recognition of QAB as a world conservation priority, a critical shortage of funds has prevented any significant conservation measures from being carried out.

However, quite recently, the Department of Environment and Conservation has taken positive steps to assist in all aspect of conserving and managing the Queen Alexandrae butterfly.

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