The hindwings are golden with a black edge bordered basally by a thin green line.

The hindwings have a broad yellow postdiscal band with a chain of dark-brown spots in the cells.

Pupation is on the underside of a leaf of a nearby shrub close to the host plant remains.

Adult butterflies fly in the host plant's immediate habitat feeding on forest tree flowers especially those of the introduced Spathodea campanulata during the morning.

The males have cryptic underside colouring and cannot easily be seen when resting in the warmer hours of the day.

Males pursue their females for long distances, rising high over the forest canopy then folding their wings and diving down to tree level to mate, even though they risk hindwing damage by the sharp tarsal claws of females.

In his 1983 report to the Department of Primary Industries, Papua New Guinea, M.J. Parsons wrote that "Ironically it is now becoming an accepted fact that the very demand for Ornithoptera is one of the main assets which will ensure their future survival if they can be exploited in the correct way."

[3] A mosaic gynandromorph specimen of this species, sold by a Taiwanese dealer for US$28,000 in July 2006, possibly set the world record for the highest price paid for a butterfly.

[citation needed] The Goliath birdwing is listed on CITES Appendix II, limiting the international exportation of the species to those who are granted a permit.