Butterfly breeding is becoming an increasingly popular activity. Some people breed them solely as a hobby, wanting to try something new, unusual. Well, others are interested in breeding butterflies at home as a business. Indeed, with a competent approach and proper organization of labor, this occupation can bring good profits. So let's talk about it in more detail.
Pros of the solution
To begin with, this is a very interesting process. Just imagine: you have a great opportunity to observe all those transformations through which a living organism passes - from eggs to adult butterflies. Although most specialists, trying to save time, do not buy eggs, but ready-made dolls that turn into butterflies. But this is a very interesting occupation, especially if there are children in the family - they will be happy to observe metamorphoses, they will better understand the biology of insects than just reading books or textbooks.
This solution also has advantages if you are interested in breeding butterflies at home as a business. Owner reviews indicate such an advantage as the opportunity to make big money in a small room. For example, to grow some plants or flowers, you need a much larger area.
In addition, even in comparison with rapidly breeding animals such as rabbits, breeding butterflies at home takes only a few days, which is very important for people who want to make a profit as soon as possible, and not within a few months. This also makes it possible to quickly decide what is the approximate profit from each party, whether it is worth doing such earnings, or it makes sense to look for a more profitable part-time job.
Therefore, to try to breed butterflies is worth every person who loves everything new and interesting.
Who needs butterflies?
At first glance, the question is really relevant - who would ever think to pay good money to buy butterflies? However, in practice, customers are almost always on such an unusual product. Basically, these are people who organize some kind of celebration - most often weddings, birthdays and other fun events that should be remembered for a lifetime. In such cases, you can arrange a whole firework of butterflies. Yes, pleasure is not cheap. But a hundred large beautiful tropical butterflies, simultaneously flying out of the box, will definitely become one of the most vivid impressions for guests at any holiday.
A gift from butterflies is also quite popular. For example, you can give a romantic girl a small, beautifully packaged box. When she opens it, dozens of beautiful butterflies soar into the air. Yes, they will fly apart (therefore it is better to make such gifts on the street). But the memories of a chic and unusual gift will remain for life.
What you need to get started
In general, insects can be hatched from eggs that the previous generation lays. But this is a rather complicated and lengthy procedure, requiring serious investment. Therefore, in most cases, professionals, telling beginners about breeding butterflies at home, recommend buying dolls. Their cost can vary significantly - from hundreds of rubles apiece to several thousand. However, if you buy in bulk (several tens or hundreds of cocoons), you can seriously reduce costs. And when breeding, ordering a dozen cocoons is a waste of money. The fireworks will turn out to be too liquid.
You can buy dolls in many online stores. Yes, you can try to catch meadow butterflies, but they cannot compete with exotic visitors in color. So it’s still worth spending a certain amount to buy dolls.
Suitable conditions
The next paragraph in the instructions for breeding tropical butterflies at home is to create ideal conditions. After all, these insects are surprisingly fragile creatures. Unsuitable temperature or humidity can have a detrimental effect on them, causing death or at least too long time to exit cocoons.
Butterflies feel best at a humidity of about 70% and a temperature of + 28 ... + 32 ° C. Of course, creating such conditions in an entire apartment or room is very difficult. Therefore, it is better to limit yourself to a small area.
Some people buy spacious aquariums - the solution is very convenient, but expensive. But you can observe the development of butterflies and keep track of any changes in time.
The more economical ones prefer to simply build a small greenhouse made of building polyethylene. It will cost a maximum of a couple of hundred rubles, and if you wish, you can always roll up the film and put it in a cabinet so that it does not interfere if you decide to temporarily stop the breeding of butterflies. With an aquarium, such a trick will not work.
In an equipped place, you need to fix the wooden slats - cocoons will be attached to them using suitable glue. Make sure that the distance between them is large enough. Otherwise, butterflies, coming out of cocoons, will interfere with each other, can even cause serious harm. After this, you can only wait, making sure that the breeding conditions are comfortable enough.
How to feed butterflies
A very important stage in breeding butterflies at home is the creation of a feed base. In nature, they feed on nectar, which is collected from flowers. Of course, in an apartment or even a spacious house it is impossible to create conditions close to natural conditions. Will have to improvise. Fortunately, butterflies do not disdain various substitutes for nectar.
For example, you can use honey - all the same nectar, only processed and condensed by bees. Dilute it with water in a proportion of 1:10 and pour it into a small container - a plastic lid or a large flat dish will do. The main thing is to buy real honey, not tinted diluted sugar.
Ordinary fruits can also be used. For example, cut an orange or mandarin into pieces and treat them to butterflies. They will be happy to suck out fruit juice using a long proboscis.
Food costs will be minimal - one large orange is enough to feed hundreds of butterflies for several days.
Security level
Butterflies are very fragile creatures. Therefore, you need to provide them with the highest level of security if you do not want them to lose their presentation.
First of all, it should be firmly remembered: you can not take them with your hands. Pollen easily sticks to your fingers, which means that the most elegant design created by nature itself will be damaged. The cost of such butterflies is sharply reduced. In addition, some of them after such exposure lose the ability to fly, which is also extremely undesirable.
You should also make sure that there are no narrow gaps in the aquarium or greenhouse where butterflies will be displayed and kept. Often insects, getting there, get stuck, begin to beat. As a result, pollen is lost, the wings wrinkle or even break. Of course, there will be no benefit from such a crippled butterfly.
What to do with the remaining butterflies?
Alas, any butterfly breeding project at home involves certain losses. For example, the order was canceled at the last moment, resulting in several dozen butterflies. And these beautiful insects are a very perishable commodity. Their life expectancy is short, so you need to come up with some way so that if you do not make a profit, then at least reduce losses to a minimum.
Fortunately, there is such a way out. Butterflies euthanized with ether can be inserted under glass or even created from them whole pictures - real works of art. Yes, it’s not always easy to find a buyer for such a product. But its shelf life is huge - sooner or later it will be possible to realize it.
Conclusion
On this our article comes to an end. From it you learned about what it takes to start your own butterfly breeding business. Well, or at least get a new, very interesting and unusual hobby that will bring a lot of positive emotions to both adults and children.