About Our Butterflies

Our butterfly displays were featured on FRINGE: Season 1, Episode 9: The Dreamscape
Original Air Date—25 November 2008

Butterfly Breeding Enclosure in Western Colombia

Butterfly farm in Monte Verde, Costa Rica

Our Insect and Butterfly Art helps to preserve valuable rainforest habitat! All of the butterflies at the Nature Gift Store were bred on farms expressly for lifetime preservation and have lived their entire lifespan of about 30 days. The Butterfly specimens are from butterfly and insect farms in Australia, Asia, North, Central and Southern America rainforest areas which breed and supply live and non-live insect specimens for butterfly houses and insect collectors around the world. Catching and using butterflies from the wild is not only uneconomical, but the specimens are invariably damaged and of no use for this type of art. Butterflies and insects live their entire life span on these rainforest farms, and produce eggs for the next generation. No butterflies or insects used in these displays are endangered species. All are legally imported into the US as regulated by the US Fish and Wildlife Department.

In the wild, less than 7% of butterfly eggs will survive to adulthood. In contrast, captive breeding programs achieve 70%-90% survival rates. Based on a 70% survival rate, butterfly farms can produce 2450 specimens from an average female Birdwing butterfly in just three generations! These figures give you an idea of just how reproductive the insect world is!

Butterfly farms help to save the rainforest by providing villagers an alternate income other than clearing virgin tropical forest. Raising insects to sell is the only incentive some indigenous peoples have to save their tropical forests.

Every item comes with a "Certificate of Authenticity" which explains the butterfly’s origins and how your purchase helped to save our rainforests!

• Farming Butterflies to Save the Rainforest

• Butterfly Farming to Help Save Rainforest 
• New Agriculturist Online
• Can Butterflies Save Mexico's Rainforest?

These butterflies are naturally preserved and should retain their beauty for many decades to come, providing you keep them from bright sunlight, high humidity and extremes in temperature.