Nature

How wide is a Queen Alexandra's birdwing?

An adult Queen Alexandra's birdwing has a wingspan of about 28 cm (11 in).

What is measured: female wingspan

Queen Alexandra's birdwing (28 cm) drawn to scale beside a smartphone (14.7 cm) and a bowling pin (38.1 cm)
Drawn to scale, from left to right: Smartphone (14.7 cm), Queen Alexandra's birdwing (28 cm) and Bowling pin (38.1 cm).

Compare

How big is that, really?

  • About 73% of the height of a bowling pin
  • About 1.9× the height of a smartphone
  • About 3.3× the length of a credit card
  • As wide as about 12 large coins side by side
  • About 16% of the height of an adult person

Learn

Facts about Queen Alexandra's birdwing

Queen Alexandra's birdwing is the world's largest butterfly, and its restricted Papua New Guinea habitat makes it vulnerable to habitat loss.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica — Queen Alexandra's birdwing; IUCN Red List — Ornithoptera alexandrae

Nature

NameSizeCompared with Queen Alexandra's birdwing
Venus flytrap15 cm (5.91 in)0.54×
Pygmy marmoset15 cm (5.91 in)0.54×
Common blue morpho15 cm (5.91 in)0.54×
Peacock mantis shrimp18 cm (7.09 in)0.64×
Fennec fox20 cm (7.87 in)0.71×
Axolotl23 cm (9.06 in)0.82×
Atlas moth24 cm (9.45 in)0.86×
Emperor tamarin25 cm (9.84 in)0.89×
Queen Alexandra's birdwing28 cm (11 in)this page
Goliath birdeater28 cm (11 in)same size

Test your sense of scale

Which is bigger: Queen Alexandra's birdwing or Axolotl?

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