''Trogonoptera'' is a genus of birdwing butterflies from the rainforests of the

Thai-Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula is located in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area contains Peninsular Malaysia, Southern Tha ...

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

Natuna Natuna Regency is an islands regency located in the northernmost part of the Province of Riau Islands, Indonesia. It contains at least 154 islands, of which 127 of them are reported as uninhabited. This archipelago, with a land area of 1,978.49& ...

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

Palawan Palawan (, ), officially the Province of Palawan (; ), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of . The capital and largest c ...

, and various small islands west of Sumatra. Their large size and stunning colors makes them highly prized by collectors. There are at least three theories as to why these butterflies have such distinctive markings on their wings: (1) the alternate green/black spear shapes mimic sharp thorns; (2) the green spear shapes mimic the camouflage pattern of a fern leaf when the butterfly is resting; (3) when flying, the black and green markings mimic those of green broadbill bird feathers in flight. The three green broadbill species in

are found in the same habitats as

Rajah Brooke's birdwing Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. The title has a long ...

, which occurs from the forested lowlands up to 2.000 m on

Mount Kinabalu Mount Kinabalu ( Dusun: ''Gayo Ngaran'' or ''Nulu Nabalu'', ) is the highest mountain in Malaysia and Borneo. With a height of , it is the third-highest peak of an island on Earth, the 28th highest peak in Southeast Asia, and 20th most prom ...

. A number of observers have noted that all Borneo's birdwing butterflies are so large that they are easily mistaken for birds in flight. A bird hunting for an insect to eat would be unlikely to attack a bird. If the butterfly wing pattern mimics the broadbill's feathers then it would be a case of a

Müllerian mimicry Müllerian mimicry is a natural phenomenon in which two or more well-defended species, often foul-tasting and sharing common predators, have come to mimicry, mimic each other's honest signal, honest aposematism, warning signals, to their mutuali ...

ring because both species have wings covered with thornlike patterns. In addition the broadbills are protected because of their large beaks and the butterfly because it is poisonous. The blue colors evolved in ''

Trogonoptera brookiana ''Trogonoptera'' is a genus of birdwing butterflies from the rainforests of the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Natuna, Sumatra, Palawan, and various small islands west of Sumatra. Their large size and stunning colors makes them highly prized by ...

'' form ''hecata'' and ''

Trogonoptera trojana ''Trogonoptera trojana'', the Palawan birdwing or triangle birdwing, is a birdwing butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is endemic to Palawan in the Philippines. It is one of only two species in its genus, the other being the more widespread ...

'' may be explained by the presence of

fairy-bluebird The three fairy-bluebirds are small passerine bird species found in forests and plantations in tropical southern Asia and the Philippines. They are the sole members of the genus ''Irena'' and family Irenidae, and are related to the ioras and le ...

s in their habitat.

Species

Two species are recognized in this genus: * ''

'' – Rajah Brooke's birdwing * ''

'' – Triangle birdwing

References

{{Authority control Butterfly genera Papilionidae Taxa named by Robert H. F. Rippon Taxa described in 1890