What are the biggest and smallest butterflies and moths?
The biggest butterfly is the Queen Alexandra Birdwing (Troides alexandrae), found in New Guinea. Females are known up to 11 inches (280 mm) in wingspan, with a very large wing area, and 12 grams in weight. The African Giant Swallowtail, Papilio antimachus, with incredibly long wings, may exceed the Queen Alexandra Birdwing in wingspan, though not in wing area. The smallest butterflies are various members of the Blue and Hairstreak family (Lycaenidae). The Dwarf Blue (Brephidium barberae) from South Africa, the Pigmy Blues (Brephidium exilis and Brephidium isophthalma) from southern North America, and some members of the mainly neotropical Hairstreak genus Ministrymon all have wingspans around one half inch (12 mm).
The biggest butterfly http://nativenet.uthscsa.edu/archive/nl/9410/0129.html NATIVE-L (October 1994): PNG: Hunstein Range Update: The Hunstein Range in the Upper Sepik River, Papua New Guinea, is recognised as … One http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entomology/ythfacts/bugfun/trivia.htm University of Kentucky Entomology for Kids: The largest butterfly is the Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing from New Guinea http://www.biol.andrews.edu/issues/Evidence.Evol Evidence.Evol: Human forearm; Foreleg of a horse; Wing of a bird; Wing of a bat; Flipper … Imperfections: http://www.hamline.edu/apakabar/basisdata/1991/03/10/0011.html Area Studies: Irian Jaya (r): …of original forest in Papua New Guinea, the nation that occupies New Guinea island’s http://www.csuchico.edu/~sacperch/con%20bio%20readings/Con_Bio_Chap_5_extinction.html Con Bio Chap 5: …example from the tropics is the world’s largest butterfly, the Queen Alexandra http://interactive.colum.edu/students/andeti/Refresh/traveler/Penvironment.
