No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.
"Butterfly Houses" – A chance for the conservation of European butterflies, education and research?
... Globally, it is estimated that about 40 million people visit butterfly houses and butterfly gardens per year, 26 million in USA alone (Rios, 2002). Although some believe the industry can make a direct input to conservation (Hughes and Bennett, 1991;Van der Heyden, 1992;Gordon and Ayiemba, 2003;Goh, 2007;Saul-Gershenz, 2009; Sambhu and Van der Heyden, 2010). ...
Arabuko Sokoke Forest (ASF) is ranked second in Africa and fifty globally in biodiversity richness. It is the largest remnant of what was originally an extensive strip of dry coastal forest that extended from Southern Somalia in the horn of Africa to the Eastern Cape in the south. The forest consists of three vegetation types; the Brachystegia, Cynometra and Mixed forest and provide habitat cover to the many flora and fauna. Extraction of adult butterfly by the local adjacent population for export has been going on over 25 years. The ten (10) current research investigates the distribution and abundance of butterfly's species along transects within the nature reserve in all three habitat types. Physical observation of butterflies using pollard walk 1500m standardized transects were used. The level of disturbance can interfere with habitat structures, species distribution and abundance. The seasonality can affects species distribution and resource partitioning. A potential seasonality difference in butterfly composition within the sites was tested and diversity indices were measured. A total of 106 species of 49 genera and 5 families were sighted. Shannon-Weiner diversity indices and evenness showed (H') 1.42, (E') 0.79 Int J Plant Anim Environ Sci 2019; 9 (4): 222-236 respectively. The overall butterfly abundance was very different in 2017 as compared to the 1997. The results show that there were no significant changes in rank abundance for the identified 60 set of species. The results show that butterflies are evenly distributed based on availability of host plants and nutrition for adult butterflies.
... The IFTA ranching model, based on a conservation ethic, although still pursued and even encouraged for deadstock (UNEP-WCMC 2007), is not suited to the current needs of the BHI. Large-scale commercial breeding of tropical butterflies has shifted from 'small volume with high unit value' to 'large volume with small unit value'. ...
This paper addresses the mass supply and use of butterflies for live exhibits, discusses the risks to biodiversity which this creates, and the educational opportunities it presents. Over the past 30 years a new type of insect zoo has become popular worldwide: the butterfly house. This has given rise to the global Butterfly House Industry (BHI) based on the mass production of butterfly pupae as a cash crop. Production is largely carried out by privately-owned butterfly farms in tropical countries, notably Central America and Southeast Asia. Most pupae are exported to North America and Europe, although the number of butterfly houses in tropical countries is growing. The BHI is described with respect to its stakeholders, their diverse interests, and its extent. It is estimated that the global turnover of the BHI is in the order of USD 100 million. From a conservation perspective, there is a tension between risks and benefits. The risks to biodiversity are primarily unsustainable production, potential bastardisation of local faunas and floras, and genetic mixing within and even between butterfly species. This paper discusses general ways of managing these risks. Ethical concerns range from fair trade issues to animal husbandry and the use of wildlife for entertainment. For the risks to biodiversity and unresolved ethical issues to be tolerable, the BHI needs to make a significant contribution to conservation, primarily through effective education about butterfly biology as a means to raise public awareness of basic ecological processes, and conservation and environmental issues. It should also engage with local conservation initiatives. Currently the BHI′s great potential for public good in these respects is rarely realised. The paper concludes by looking at the special nature of the BHI, and its need for effective self-regulation if it is to continue to escape from public scrutiny and the introduction of restrictive regulations. The BHI needs to engage in active cooperation between its various stakeholders regarding a raft of critical issues if it is to survive and fulfil a beneficial role in society. The BHI also needs to forge active partnerships with conservation NGOs, educationalists, and scientists-communities that also need to recognise their own responsibilities towards the industry. We also discuss the need for an effective umbrella organisation for the BHI, as well as a "Code for trading and exhibiting live butterflies".
... Farming and/or exhibiting (tropical) butterflies is a worldwide business. Most of the butterflies presented to the public are bred in tropical countries while the main facilities of exhibition are located in Europe (where the first butterfly exhibition facilities were opened in the United Kingdom in the late seventies/early eighties of the last century) ( VAN DER HEYDEN, 1992), North America, Asia and Australia. But there are exhibition facilities in some (tropical) developing countries, too-e. ...
The “Kawê Amazonica Butterfly Farm” project in Guyana, South America is described with its different phases and is presented as a model for sustainable butterfly farming.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.