The Common Birdwing, Troides (Troides) helena cerberus (C. & R. Felder)

This is perhaps the commonest birdwing to be encountered on a forest clearing, jungle path or even villages in this vicinity. However, it is a lofty flyer and is often difficult to get a clear shot at it from a distance. Sometimes, when they do visit flowering shrubs in villages and can often be seen hovering over flowering trees in villages fringed by a wooded area (most villages in Raub falls into this category). The females are distinctively larger and has large submarginal black spots on its golden yellow hindwings.

Habitat indicator

RSP	WV	PG	VF	FTR	SC	LWDF	LWPF	LMEF	UMN	MN
			x		x	x	x

Frequency observation chart: (S marks the usual occurences, H marks an unusually high occurence, F for first record)

2013
Mac	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct
			S1			S1

2013		2014
Nov	Dec	Jan	Feb	Mac	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct

2014

2015

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mac

Apr

May

June

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

S3

S3

2016
Jan	Feb	Mac	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
					S1	S2

2017
Jan	Feb	Mac	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec

2018
Jan	Feb	Mac	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec

2019
Jan	Feb	Mac	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec

2020
Jan	Feb	Mac	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec

The above two photos of a female specimen were taken on 22 November 2009 in the late morning (with a pocket camera).

Below three photos are from a road accident victim: I was driving along a rural road when I noticed a large birdwing flapping its wounded wings on the tarmac. I stopped my car to rescue it from the tarmac from on-coming vehicles and took a few snapshots of it. I then placed it on a roadside bush for more pictures but judging by its injuries, it would not have made it as it was bleeding brown liquid from its thorax, both its antannae were missing and a wing was broken when I got to it. I gather it must have had a collision with a passing vehicle it having perhaps flown too low ( I have seen the same incident with a very large Wood Nymph, Idea lynceus at Pos Bertau but the insect survived as it was "pushed" away by the vehicle's air current).

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Besides the males of the Rajah Brooke's Birdwing, other species of Troides normally do not puddle but on this unusual occasion, a solitary male was found puddling on a moist spot by the stream under the mid-day sun...

Above 3 photos 15 September 2013 @ 11:59

*     *     *     *     *

Females come to flowers whenever the occasion arise, especially if there is a flowering garden close by a forested parcel...

 11:49

11:49

 11:50

 11:50

11:50

 11:50

 11:50

 11:50

 11:50

11:51
Above photos 10 November 2019.