How Do Butterfly Farms Help Save the Rainforests?
Butterflies are among the most colorful and charismatic of insects, and their extraordinary diversity has been the focus of studies by amateur naturalists and professional entomologists for over two centuries. Butterflies have long been model organisms for basic biological research in the fields of behavior, population genetics, and systematics. More recently, studies of butterfly life cycles in tropical rain forests have resulted in a cottage industry: “farms” or “ranches” where live butterflies are reared under controlled conditions to provide a supply of pupae for exhibits of live insects. Live butterfly pupae are sold to museums and zoos for public education and enjoyment along with preserved specimins to be used in framed butterfly displays.. Butterfly Farms and Butterfly Ranching How do butterfly farms and ranches operate? One pioneering project developed by the government of Papua New Guinea encouraged farmers to take part in commercial exploitation of a renewable resource — in
