Home-grown butterflies

Ranger Rick, May, 1998 by Deborah Churchman

School kids keep their eyes on a farm full of fancy butterflies. The insects mean money for their school and hope for their rainforest.

People in Barra del Colorado, a village in Costa Rica, had a big problem. For many years, the villagers had caught fish for a living. But then, because of pollution and overfishing, the fish began to disappear. Soon it became hard for the people to catch enough fish to feed to their families and sell for money. What could they do?

The village is on the edge of a beautiful rainforest. One thing the villagers could have done was chop down the trees. Then they could have sold the wood and farmed the land. They would have made money but destroyed the rainforest.

A scientist named Brent Davies had another idea about how the villagers could use the rainforest. And it would keep the forest alive. The villagers could raise and sell butterflies.

Many colorful butterflies flit around in the forest near Barra del Colorado. It would be easy to capture a few and use them to raise many more.

Brent knew that butterfly zoos around the world would pay for farm-raised but- terflies. If the villagers could make money by selling them, they'd have a good reason to protect the insects' rainforest home. After all, without the forest, there would be no wild butterflies to capture. And without a steady supply of wild butterflies, the farm would fail.

Brent wanted to show villagers how to raise butterflies to sell. And she knew just who could help: the school kids! If adults saw kids making money with butterflies, they might want to start their own farm--and protect the forest.

SCHOOLYARD FARM

Butterflies drink nectar from certain flowers, and they lay their eggs on other plants. When the eggs hatch, caterpillars come out and eat those plants. They eat and grow, and grow and eat. When they've grown enough, the caterpil- lars turn into pupae (PEW-pee). And those are what butterfly zoos buy.

Brent knew that villagers could find some pupae in the rainforest to sell. But if the people could get butterflies to lay eggs in one place, they could raise caterpillars--and get many more pupae. They could even let some of the extra butterflies they raised go free in the rainforest. That would make sure the forest would always have plenty.

So, how to get started? To attract butterflies, Brent figured the villagers needed a garden full of nectar plants. They also needed an enclosure full of plants for caterpillars to eat. She talked to people at the school. Together they decided on a good spot in the schoolyard.

CLEARING AND PLANTING

First they had to clear a lot of trash out of the schoolyard. The kids pitched in and stuffed more than 100 sacks with trash. Soon people were stopping by to admire their work.

Then everyone helped dig up the soil so that plants could grow. That turned up lots of worms--which attracted lots of chickens. So the kids went on "chicken patrol," chasing the birds away. Their butterfly garden needed those worms!

Next, they planted flowers to attract the butterflies. Beside the flower gar- den, they built the enclosure for raising caterpillars. Then they put the right kinds of plants inside it.

RAISING BUTTERFLIES

Butterflies from the forest flew to the garden to feed on the flowers. Brent taught the children how to capture the butterflies and take them into the enclosure. There, the butterflies laid tiny eggs on the special plants.

Brent also taught the children how to find caterpillars and eggs. (Some eggs are no bigger than the period at the end of this sentence.)

The kids learned to lift up leaves and look around the plants. They put the eggs and caterpillars they found into special feeding boxes. That way they could make sure the insects got plenty to eat.

In the boxes, the caterpillars fattened up on leaves. Then they turned into pupae. The kids picked the pupae just as if they were picking a crop. They let some of the pupae turn into butterflies, and they put those back in the rain forest. But they sold the other pupae.

Today, the farm sells about 250 pupae every month. The money that's earned goes to the school for materials and equipment. The first thing the kids bought was a ceiling fan so their schoolroom wouldn't be so hot!

The best news is that some adults in the village have started doing what the kids have done--making farms for butterflies. They've learned from the kids how to use the forest without harming it.

MEANWHILE, BACK HOME

People at the San Diego Wild Animal Park helped start the butterfly farm in Costa Rica. Then they had another wild idea. Why not start this kind of farm at home in California?

They asked students at San Pasqual Union Elementary School if they wanted to get involved. People at the school agreed to do the same thing as the vil- lagers in Costa Rica.

Kids and adults set up a butterfly garden and an enclosed area. Some of the money they earn pays for special things for their school, such as science equipment.

Students from California have started writing to the students in Costa Rica about their butterfly businesses. Both groups of kids feel great about what they're doing for nature!