Hi everyone, thank you so much for checking out my site and artwork. I have been getting a lot of questions regarding and frankly concerns about the process, the treatment and where the butterflies I use for my artwork are sourced and come from. I would like to address these concerns to help you understand and hopefully put your mind at ease.
I can really appreciate everyone who has the same love for another living creature as I do. Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder! However, when it comes to artistic expression, beauty of an artwork is closely linked to its ability to stimulate emotions within us. I have visited many beautiful and amazing butterfly habitats around the Us and in many countries and their beauty has stimulated me immensely.
Butterflies are God's creatures, unique, symmetrical, colorful, and absolutely beautiful, they are not only beautiful creatures, but do a great deal for the environment. Like bees, they are plant pollinators, and they provide population control for several plant and even insect species by eating them. They also serve as sustenance for other species too. But the fact is that they only live for approximately 3 weeks.
I have had many people accuse me of being this kind of butterfly killing monster, on the contrary my goal with my art is to absolutely preserve the natural beauty of these amazing creatures in my art for people to see. I have never killed a butterfly in my life, they are truly one of the most amazing creatures on this earth and I cherish them for their beauty and
grace
We all have visited a natural history museum at some point in our lives, walking through seeing all the amazing and different animals that we didn't even knew existed but very curious about. These museums have created a space to teach us about their lives in their natural habitat. Maybe I can include on my website, everything about each butterfly that I use to educate the public as a teaching moment.
The exotic butterflies that I use for my displays are purchased from Commercial Butterfly Breeding Farms located primarily in South America, Africa, and Indonesia. None of them are captured or killed for my art nor are any of them endangered species. With their life spans being approximately three weeks, they flourish in their natural enclosed surroundings. The butterfly's mate, lay their eggs and soon die a FULL Natural Death. The workers then pick up the butterflies and rate each one for its quality. I purchase only the highest quality butterflies that the farms offer. The females are brought in from the wild to lay their eggs inside a large, enclosed habitat. This way she and all her babies are protected from disease, parasites, and predators. One female butterfly can lay thousands of eggs. In the wild only a handful will survive into adulthood because of all these obstacles. In captivity virtually 100% will survive.
Once the butterflies reach adulthood any are released back into the wild to help increase the indigenous populations. The rest are kept in the butterfly habitats for the rest of their lives, which is only 3 weeks or so in most cases, after they hatch from their chrysalis. There is a lengthy process that is involved once the butterfly has lived its full course of life and died. In a nutshell and without boring you, it involves carefully picking them up off the ground before decomposition sets in and individually packing them into a special acid free paper that will not harm the wings or the butterfly's exoskeleton. It is very humane, and the deceased butterfly are treated with such care and dignity.
Butterfly Farming is a win win situation! It helps to preserve rain forests and assures the survival of natural butterfly habitats. Butterfly farmers are encouraged to grow plants and raise insects opposed to clearing their land for cash crops. Your purchases will help the farming industry continue without threats to the natural wild populations of butterflies. A portion of every artwork sold goes back to helping build a sustainable ecosystem for these butterflies. Thank you again for your comments, I hope I was able to answer your questions and concerns.