There is something very rewarding about shopping a farmer’s market. When I return home with a basket of tomatoes and a bunch of carrots, I know that I have helped a farmer in a small way. It is empowering to think that my purchase can have an effect on other people.   The same is true of butterfly farms. Yes, there are farmers out there that raise butterflies and I was fortunate to have the chance to visit a butterfly garden right in the bustling city of San Jose, Costa Rica.

Spirogyra is an enchanting tropical garden that protects the last of the city’s forested land and provides a home for many incredible butterflies.  Even more inspiring, Spirogyra works with 15 other farms to raise butterfly pupae, offering families a competitve source of income and incentive to promote rainforest conservation. 

How does it all work?  Generally, there is a netted enclosure where butterflies reside and mate, laying eggs on plants.  These eggs are gathered by the farmers and placed in containers that are checked daily for hatching caterpillars.  Caterpillars are picky eaters and need a specific host plant.  They are provided host plant cuttings and placed into rearing bins.  As they eat and grow, farmers check continuously for the products that they will export- chrysalids.  These little jewels are carefully wrapped, packed, and then sent for destinations around the world such as yours truly.

Now, the incredible thing is that making a difference can be as easy as making a trip to the Butterfly Pavilion.  In each admission there is a gift to a farmer of a better life, a sense of worth, and insight of resource conservation.  So let’s not wait to enjoy the farmers’ harvests!

Written by Khanh Whiteman
Zookeeper, Butterfly Pavilion

Big Jobs for Some our World’s Smallest Creatures

Imagine your life without the ability to move.  Even plants, or at least plant parts, need a measure of mobility in order to reproduce successfully.  Indeed, life as we know it depends on the movement of pollen from one plant to another.  Without this process, most of our world’s plants would be unable to produce fertile seeds, stranding them in a reproductive dead end. While some plants can self-pollinate, most rely on wind or animals to spread their pollen to other individuals of the same species.   Insects are among the most common pollinators of flowering plants, and their partnerships with plants are vital to ecosystem health and our survival.

Pollinators and plants are partners in the true sense of the word, even if the partnership is sometimes fraught with complexity.  Animal pollinators tend to be faithful to certain plant types, as long as they are rewarded with food or some other resource.  For this reason, animal-pollinated flowers often use bright colors, strong fragrances and arresting shapes as advertisements to attract their pollen-carrying counterparts. Most people are familiar with those six-legged cupids, the honeybees, but gardens, fields and meadows host a wide variety of pollinators, including solitary bees, bumblebees, moths, butterflies, flies and beetles.

The importance of these often-overlooked animals to our global health becomes more apparent each year.  Some researchers estimate that a third of our food (including condiments, spices and beverages) requires animal pollination, and more than half of the world’s diet of fats and oils comes from animal pollinated crops.  In fact, animal pollinated products, from fibers to medicine to food, annually contribute 20 billion dollars to the United States economy!

Unfortunately, decades of habitat degradation and rampant pesticide use have taken their toll on the world’s pollinator populations. This could translate into negative effects on our dinner tables and in our wallets.  When declines in honeybee populations in Europe and the United States made news last year, many people surmised that Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) could act as a wake-up call for the plight of pollinators and their habitats.  While scientists have not yet identified a cause or a cure, many suspect newly identified pathogens may play a role in the bees’ plight. 

In the meantime, people everywhere can play a role in protecting our plants, pollinators and our world by improving our understanding of these important organisms and by making responsible choices to protect them.  

Learn more about plants, pollinators, and their impacts during

POLLINATION NATION

June 20-September 1, 2008

at the Butterfly Pavilion  

Posted by Amy Yarger
Director of Horticulture, Butterfly Pavilion