Rare butterfly captured emerging from chrysalis in SW China's Yunnan

Recently, a photographer captured the whole process of a Golden Birdwing (troides aeacus) emerging from its chrysalis in the Butterfly Valley in the Ma'andi township of southwest China’s Yunnan Province.

As the largest butterfly ever recorded in China, the Golden Birdwing has a wing span of over 12 centimeters. It has a graceful and fluttering flight, with its front wings being black, and its back wings striped with golden yellow and black. The butterfly is an insect that undergoes a complete metamorphosis, passing through four stages in its life cycle: from egg, larva, pupa to adult.

A Golden Birdwing (troides aeacus) emerges from its chrysalis in the Butterfly Valley in the Ma'andi township of southwest China’s Yunnan Province. (Photo/Courtesy of the media convergence center of Jinping county)