Their hind wings are small, but they can fly. The statement often made on the Internet (even in Wikipedia) that “males cannot fly, so they wait for females on trees” is a lie. See Matsuka’s “Natural History of Birdwing Butterflies” for evidence of this. Swallowtail butterflies (Papilionidae) fly almost exclusively on their forewings, and even individuals that have lost most of their hind wings can fly. (Yasui)
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