Ornithoptera priamus is a variable species.
It was originally described from Seram Island of Indonesia.
As in other species of the genus Ornithoptera, the females are larger and less vividly coloured than the males, them being mainly blackish or dark brown with patterns in pale brown, yellow or white.
Nonetheless, females are extremely variable, and they may have colour patterns similar to females of other Ornithoptera species.

In males, iridescent areas of the wing are typically green, although some subspecies endemic to island groups east of New Guinea have blue males.
These subspecies are O. p. urvilleanus (New Ireland, Bougainville, and Solomon Islands), O. p. miokensis (Mioko Island), and O. p. caelestis (Louisiade Archipelago).

However, it is likely that O. p. miokensis is actually a hybrid between O. p. urvillianus and O. p. bornemanni from the neighbouring islands of New Britain and Bougainville.
Specimens of this subspecies are variable, and can be identical to specimens of either parent, or intermediates.
Immigration may also explain its rarity, as Mioko is a small island and, as of 2001, its host plants had been reduced to a few Aristolochia tagala vines growing in a local village.

Several species currently recognised as distinct have previously been considered subspecies of O. priamus by different authors.
These are: O. aesacus, O. croesus, O. euphorion, and O. richmondia.
The last two are still regarded as subspecies of O. priamus by some.
Ornithoptera priamus is a variable species. It was originally described from Seram Island of Indonesia. As in other species of the genus Ornithoptera, the females are larger and less vividly coloured than the males, them being mainly blackish or dark brown with patterns in pale brown, yellow or white. Nonetheless, females are extremely variable, and they may have colour patterns similar to females of other Ornithoptera species.
In males, iridescent areas of the wing are typically green, although some subspecies endemic to island groups east of New Guinea have blue males. These subspecies are O. p. urvilleanus (New Ireland, Bougainville, and Solomon Islands), O. p. miokensis (Mioko Island), and O. p. caelestis (Louisiade Archipelago).
However, it is likely that O. p. miokensis is actually a hybrid between O. p. urvillianus and O. p. bornemanni from the neighbouring islands of New Britain and Bougainville. Specimens of this subspecies are variable, and can be identical to specimens of either parent, or intermediates. Immigration may also explain its rarity, as Mioko is a small island and, as of 2001, its host plants had been reduced to a few Aristolochia tagala vines growing in a local village.
Several species currently recognised as distinct have previously been considered subspecies of O. priamus by different authors. These are: O. aesacus, O. croesus, O. euphorion, and O. richmondia. The last two are still regarded as subspecies of O. priamus by some.
Ornithoptera priamus