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Farming Butterflies to Save the Rainforests

Butterfly farming in tropical rainforest habitat
Plate I Rainforest farms Papua New Guinea
Conservation farms · Rainforest livelihood

Farming butterflies to save the rainforests.

Raising or collecting insects to sell is the only incentive many indigenous peoples have to save their tropical forests.

Larry Orsak · Director, Christensen Research Institute · Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea Butterfly ranching Products of the rainforest

01 — The case

Forest loss, clear incentive.

Virgin tropical forests are declining at an alarming rate. Buying products of the rainforest can turn standing forest into a lasting source of household income.

Over half of virgin tropical forests have been cleared in the last 40 years. The case for saving them is clear - and one of the most direct forms of support is buying products that depend on healthy rainforest habitat.

Butterfly farming and insect ranching give communities a cash crop that does not require clearing land or destroying canopy cover. The forest becomes a continual source of income rather than a one-off resource to exploit.

Field note 01 Butterfly farming in tropical rainforest habitat
Rainforest farming community
Collecting tropical butterflies does not speed up their extinction.
Larry Orsak · adapted from the original article

02 — Papua New Guinea

Investing in forest protection.

Buying tropical insects for collections may be one of the best investments anyone can make in tropical forest protection.

Field note 02 Tropical rainforest specimens and farming context in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea insect resource programme

Papua New Guinea has some of the world's most desirable insects, including the Queen Alexandra's Birdwing and the Goliath Birdwing, the world's longest walking stick, largest katydid, and a weevil that grows a garden of lichens and mosses on its back.

Add to this 3,000+ species of orchids, 10% of the world's rhododendrons, the coveted bird-of-paradise and more. To ensure their future survival, PNG set up an entity to develop an insect resource programme which farms insects.

Due to its success it became a role model for many other butterfly farms and similar projects throughout the world.

50%+Of virgin tropical forests cleared in the last 40 years
3,000+Orchid species recorded in Papua New Guinea
20%Of farmed wildlife released back into the wild
PNGInsect resource programme became a global model

03 — How it works

From forest to livelihood.

Villagers collect butterflies and other insects from their forests to sell, or plant caterpillar food plants and market the adults that develop on those extra food plants - a process known as butterfly ranching.

01

Forest collection

Villagers gather butterflies and insects from standing forest, turning habitat into a renewable source of income.

02

Butterfly ranching

Food plants are cultivated so adult butterflies can be raised and sold without clearing additional land.

03

Wild release

Communities release 20% of all wildlife farmed back into the wild, supporting healthy populations.

Villagers realise that the forest can be a continual source of income. That gives them great incentive to protect their areas.

Money earned pays for children's schooling, medicine and simple living needs. They now have cash crops of butterflies which does not require forest clearing and land destruction.

Field note 03 Butterfly farming workshops, host plants and community participation
Community farming and host-plant cultivation

04 — Specimen highlights

Remarkable rainforest species.

Papua New Guinea's insect diversity helped establish farming programmes that now inspire conservation projects worldwide.

Butterflies

Queen Alexandra's Birdwing

Among the largest and most sought-after butterflies in the world.

Butterflies

Goliath Birdwing

Another iconic PNG species central to rainforest insect farming.

Insects

Longest walking stick

Part of a remarkable invertebrate fauna protected through farming income.

Insects

Lichen weevil

A weevil that grows a garden of lichens and mosses on its back.

Read more

Explore the full article.

This page presents an edited excerpt. The complete piece goes further into butterfly farming as a conservation strategy.

Full article