 |
A male specimen of the Queen Alexandra's Birdwing.
© Australian Museum |
|
|
Much Virgin Rain Forest Remains
The rain forests of Papua New Guinea are home to some fantastic insects: the world's largest and second largest butterflies (the Queen Alexandra's Birdwing and the Goliath Birdwing), huge and bizarrely shaped beetles and mantids, the longest walking stick, the largest katydid, hammer-headed flies, and a weevil with a garden of lichens and mosses on its back. The butterflies have historically been among the most avidly sought by collectors around the world, and rare specimens can fetch hundreds, even thousands, of dollars.
From the point of view of its insect populations, PNG is unique in other ways as well. It's the only country whose constitution designates insects as renewable natural resources. It's also the only country whose government set up an entity to develop this resource in a sustainable way.
|
 |
|
2 of 9 |
|
 |
|
|
|