Troides hypolitus is a butterfly from the Australasian and Indomalayan realms. The first description was in 1775 by Pieter Cramer. This butterfly is a member of the family Papilionidae. Troides hypolitus is black. It has a chain of golden spots on the hindwings. The females are dark brown and they are bigger than the males.
The male's forewings are black. Some veins are bordered by white colour. The underside is very similar to the upperside. The hindwings are grey. The outer edge is black and it contains a chain of golden spots. The veins are black. The underside is similar to the upperside, but the basic colour is white.
The body (abdomen) is black and yellow, but the underside is white and yellowish. It looks like a wasp. Head and thorax are black. The nape has a red hair-coat.
The sexes are sexually dimorphic. The female covers the upper range of the wingspan and is usually larger than the male. The basic colour of the female is dark brown. Many veins are bordered by white. The golden spots are bigger and they contain a black core. The underside is a very similar to the upperside.
Haugum, Jan; & Low, A. M. (1975): Notes on the status of Troides hypolitus (Cramer) 1775 (Lep.: Papilionidae: Troidini) with a description of a new genus, notes on the status of T. hypolitus cellularis Rothschild 1895, and the apparent dimorphism in the male sex of T. hypolitus sulaeThe Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation 87, pp. 111–119, illustration.
Haugum, J. & Low, A.M. 1978-1985. A Monograph of the Birdwing Butterflies. 2 volumes. Scandinavian Press, Klampenborg; 663 pp.
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