Rajah Brooke's birdwing (Trogonoptera brookiana)

[Trehopr1]

This butterfly was named by naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace
in 1855, after James Brooke the Rajah of Sarawak Borneo.
To me, it still holds a place of simple magnificence and
splendor....

It has been a forever common and well known staple in the
hobby. It also remains as (likely) the first "birdwing" species which young enthusiasts acquire.

I was in jaw-dropping awe when my hands gingerly spread
my first specimen acquired from the Butterfly Co. (out of N.Y.)
back in 1975.

This is the second of two specimens purchased from them
and it always reminds me of my passionate beginnings of
collecting exotic butterflies from round the world.

[Yorky]

A nice story about this species. I had a binman as a next door neighbour. When I was 11 I got home from school, he was leaning over the fence, he said when you've had your meal come round, I've got something you might like to see. About an hour later I went round and on his living room table was a case of butterflies with a pair of brookiana in the middle. I had no idea what they were but the size and colour blew me away. After drooling for a few minutes he told me that they had been thrown into the crusher and were just about to be demolished when he put his arm in and grabbed them, he brought them home and cleaned up the case.

He knew that I collected and told me that they were a gift for me. I can't remember ever feeling so much joy, even at Christmas. At first I thought that they were moths due to the thickness of the body. I couldn't find a book at the village library to identify them so my parents took me to the town library about 7 miles away where I found a book on world butterflies and there was a picture of the male inside. The female being so much bigger and looking so different I thought that it must be a different species, it took another year before I knew what it was. I still have them with a label underneath saying the date, May 1977 that I acquired them and the bin lorry story. They are not in A1 condition but I treasure them above anything else.