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| Malaita, Solomon Islands 3/94 ssp reginae (specimen from Ianni butterflies, Ohio) | Santa Ysabel Island, Solomon Chain ssp isabellae |
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| Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands; 6/94 ssp victoriae (specimen from Ianni butterflies, Ohio) | Buka Island, N Solomon Province, Papua New Guinea; Oct 1999 ssp. regis (Specimen from Insect World) |
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| Ranonga, Solomon Islands; 3/94 ssp rubianus (specimen from Ianni butterflies, Ohio) | New Georgia Is ssp rubianus aberration |
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| Ranonga, Solomon Islands ssp rubianus aberration niclasi | Guadalcanal ssp victoriae aberration niclasi |
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| San Cristobal Island, Solomons; 2/94 ssp epiphanes | San Cristobal Island, Solomons; 2/94 ssp epiphanes |
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| Bougainville ; ssp regis gold aberration | Bougainville PNG ssp regis red aberrant |
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| San Cristobal ssp epiphanes aberration | |
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| Malaita, Solomon Islands 5/82 ssp reginae female (specimen from Ianni butterflies, Ohio) | |
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| St. Isabel Is, Solomon Islands ssp isabellae female | |
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| New Georgia Island Solomon Group ssp rubianus female |
Widespread in the Solomon Islands and Bougainville Island
(New Guinea), This beautiful insect is not rare, but some populations are
declining due to deforestation. Inhabits lowland rain forest, males soaring
high in the canopy and feeding on nectar in the treetops, it is notoriously
difficult to capture. The first known specimens were actually brought down
(in pieces) with a shotgun in the nineteenth century. The Solomon Island
government has done little to protect it and has not yet signed the international
endangered species act (CITES). O. victoriae is one of the most
phenotypically variable of the birdwings, and forms resembling each of
the described subspecies have been found outside the range for that subspecies.
A natural hybrid with O. priamus urvilleana
is known as O. allotei (once considered
to be the most prized of the birdwings due to its rarity and still selling
at auctions for the neighborhood of 10,000$ US).