Every Lepidopterists Dream

Hey ya'll

I really wanted to save this post for tomorrow but the moment I removed these Ornithoptera from the spreading board, well I just couldn't control myself!!! Ornithoptera, surely one of the most coveted of all butterflies for any Papilionidae lover and now I have here my very own pair, beginning with the nominate species Ornithoptera priamus (Common/Green Birdwing) and the much rarer Ornithoptera rothschildi (Rothschild's Birdwing). So named for their enormous wingspans and avian-like flight, Ornithoptera are one of the largest butterflies in the world (although, O. Rothschildi turned out to be a lot smaller than I thought it would be). Can't express my elation and gratitude for having received such wonderful butterflies and it is only my deepest hope and dream to be able to be directly involved in their conservation someday. 

Ornithoptera rothschildi

Ornithoptera priamus poseidon

And so I will leave you for now, as I continue to marvel at these wonderful butterflies and imagine how they must have looked like, alive, and flying free, though in the meantime I will also reserve them a special place on my lepidoptera wall. 

Cheers,
Cyren

CITES Teasers Unveiled!!!

Hey ya'll

I know it's been more than one week (or was it two?) since I last dropped the teaser on the CITES permits I got, but here they are!!! My very first set of Ornithoptera, all flexed and ready to spread!!!

Ornithoptera priamus poseidon, male

Ornithoptera rothschildi, male

Aren't they magnificent?! I just can't tell you how nervous I was picking them out of their chambers! One wrong move and it could make all the difference between an A1 specimen and a tear that's going to kill me for the rest of my life (birdwings don't fall out of the sky!!!). One thing to note though, relaxing chambers don't actually work for Ornithoptera. Not when they've (apparently) been dead for over two years!!! Which reminds me, thanks so much to Gregory Nielson and Luan Felipe who offered the advice on injected the butterflies with hot water in the thorax! Worked like a charm it did!!! Anyway, in addition to the two males you see, I've also got two magnificent females on the spreading board. Their size, if anything, is really quite impressive! And speaking of sizes, O. rothschildi turned out to be a lot smaller "in the flesh" than I thought it would be! It's barely larger than one of my medium-large P. memnon specimens. At any rate, do stay tuned for updates!!! I can't wait to remove these babies off the board as I'm sure that they will be exquisitely stunning!!! Also of note are the Parides that also went on the board today!!! Unfortunately a closer inspection revealed two of them to have slightly torn wings!!! Quite a disappointment indeed!!! 

Ps. I just named my Wisdom Tooth. Her name is Wisdy. Wisdy is a real temperamental bitch. Always hurts when I eat nice things. WHY CAN'T I EAT NICE THINGS? I think Wisdy should be more like Dom (my other Wisdom tooth) He never seems to cause a fuss. Just sayin'. 

Cheers
Cyren