The World's Largest Butterfly: Queen Alexandra's Birdwing Queen Alexandra's Birdwing is the largest butterfly in the world, with a wingspan up to 1 foot or 30 cm. This tropical butterfly is from the rainforest in northern Papua New Guinea. The caterpillars eat the pipevine plant, which contains poison; this makes the butterfly toxic to predators, which will get sick if they eat it. So they quickly learn to leave these huge butterflies alone. The red shaded region of Papua New Guinea is lowland rainforest, and is the habitat of Queen Alexandra's Birdwing         Order: Lepidoptera         Family: Papilionidae         Genus: Troides         species: alexandrae The World's Largest Moth: Atlas Moth The Atlas Moth is found throughout the jungles of Southeast Asia, and particularly in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia. The Atlas Moth adult also has a wingspan of 1 foot or 30 cm. This moth is so big, it is often mistaken for a small bird when it is flying! The Atlas Moth's cocoon looks like a piece of fruit hanging from a tree. The moth uses the markings on its back, which resemble a snake, to scare away predators. The Atlas does all its eating as a larva; the adult moth has no mouth, and cannot eat. The Atlas Moth is found in the jungles of Southeast Asia, but is kept and bred by collectors around the world. Here's an almost life-size black & white picture of an Atlas you can save and colour. It's in pdf format. Resources HTML, graphics & design by Bill Willis 2023