Re: raising tropical butterflies

YankeePerm@aol.com
Tue, 5 Nov 1996 07:10:16 -0500

I don't have specific references but I recall seeing butterfly farms in
Malaysia and hearing about at least one in the Philippines. So this sort of
thing is done. The one I visited was entirely enclosed in screening. I don't
remember the density but presumably it was fine enough to prevent caterpillar
escape. Admission was charged and certain rare species were confined to
smaller cages where they could be seen but not collected by the unscrupulous.
The area was planted to host plants, included both running and still water,
etc., to emulate native habitat. Some of that was for the benefit of the
paying customers, I know. It also included synthetic caves. This was in 1987
and that's all I remember. If it becomes urgent to get an address, you can
contact me in two months and I'll look to see if I kept a flyer. (We are in
limbo right now waiting to close on land and my files are in storage.)

You might contact Sahabat Alam Malaysia in Penang--I'm sure that they have
the address of the butterfly farm, which was on that island. Obviously, the
key is to preserve critical host plants for both adult and larval stages.

Good luck with your important project.

For Mother Earth, Dan Hemenway, Yankee Permaculture Publications (since
1982), Elfin Permaculture workshops, lectures, Permaculture Design Courses,
consulting and permaculture designs (since 1981), and now permaculture
training in an email classroom. Copyright, 1996, Dan & Cynthia Hemenway.
YankeePerm@aol.com P.O. 2025, Ocala FL 3447-2025 USA.

We don't have time to rush.