Rare beauty: The Kinabalu birdwing butterfly.
KOTA KINABALU: The gazetting of the Kinabalu Birdwing butterfly, known as “Kalibambang Emas”, as the official state butterfly of Sabah, is an initiative by the state government to boost the conservation of the butterfly species as well as other species.
The Kinabalu Birdwing, with the scientific name Troides Andromache, was chosen because it is an endemic species that can only be found in Sabah and Sarawak, at an altitude of between 1,000 and 2,000 feet (305m and 610m) above sea level.
