The larvae of "O. richmondia" require relatively specialist environmental conditions for their survival and this is one reason why the species does not establish permanently in home gardens. Eggs are usually laid on the soft foliage of leaders extending into the canopy and emerge within about one week. The newly emerged larvae devour their eggshell and then require very soft foliage, as they are incapable of feeding on older, tough foliage. The larvae are extremely ravenous and require large plants; a 10-year-old vine may be needed to sustain a single larva (Sands and Scott, 1997). The fifth (final) instar larva may ringbark the stem of its host as in other "Ornithoptera", however there are no records in literature to sustain this. Pre-pupal larvae usually move away from their host plants to pupate, as larvae can be cannibalistic. The pupae are suspended in typical Papilionid fashion by crotchets at the end of their abdomen and a girdle extending around the thorax and require a protected site to survive winter. "Ornithoptera richmondia" is also the only birdwing known to enter a true diapause; artificial introduction of other "Ornithoptera" species to within the range of "O. richmondia" could interfere with this mechanism.