Necessary conditions of detention
Creating a homemade butterfly farm is a good gift for a child who will be able to watch the birth and formation of living creatures. A real tropical fairy tale unfolds before his eyes, because many types of butterflies have a colorful color.
In addition to a gift for a child, an insectarium (or, as it is also called, a “butterfly garden”) is an opportunity to build your own business by breeding these insects. Butterflies can be sold for holiday events, and the initial investment can pay off fairly quickly.
But the first thing you need to know is how to care for a butterfly at home? In order for them to feel comfortable, the humidity inside the insectarium must be maintained at 70-90% at a temperature of 24 to 26 degrees.
To tie the dolls you will need sticks (the distance between them is 15 cm). Maintaining distance is necessary so that nothing prevents butterflies from spreading their wings at birth.
Propagation using cocoons
Cocoons can be used for propagation. They can be found in the wild. But it is better to purchase cocoons of tropical butterflies at a pet store or order online.
So, you have cocoons. They need to be hung on some branch, because after emerging, butterflies spread and dry their wings, and then immediately begin to fly, and if some stage is skipped, then the insect simply will not be able to master such a skill. You can secure the cocoons using ordinary threads. They should be located at a sufficient height: approximately 40-50 centimeters from the support.
How do you know when a butterfly is ripe and ready to emerge? Usually the cocoon darkens, and inside it you can easily see the folded wings of an insect. This means that a transformation will occur very soon.
Which types to choose?
Keeping an insectarium at home involves breeding exotic species of butterflies. Especially if your goal is potential earnings.
The following types are suitable:
- Sailboat Polit - has an attractive contrasting color, length 8-10 cm.
- “Moon butterfly” - wings of a characteristic dark blue color, length is 8-10 cm.
- Graphium Agamemnon is a very active species, well suited for use at festive events.
- Kotzebue's sailboat is black with bright red splashes. Length – up to 10 cm.
- Danaid Chrysippus is a yellow-orange butterfly, 6-8 cm long.
- “Orange butterfly” - has an orange-white color, length is up to 10 cm.
- Caligo Atreus is brown or black with bright splashes of yellow and blue. The length ranges from 14 to 18 cm.
- Peacock-eye Atlas - different color options are possible: yellow, red, brown, etc. It can reach 26 cm in length.
Who needs it?
Most often, batches of butterflies are bought by holiday organizing agencies. Previously, white doves were released during weddings or anniversaries. Today, the spectacular performance was replaced by a fireworks display of colorful tropical butterflies. Cooled butterflies are placed in a box - in this state they are inactive. At the moment of release, the temperature in the box rises, causing the insects to increase their activity. A huge cloud of butterflies soars up, forcing the audience to watch this spectacle in fascination.
In addition, butterflies are purchased:
- For personal collection.
- As a personal gift.
- For breeding rare individuals.
- For the celebrations.
- Dried butterflies are purchased as panels for exhibitions and galleries.
The cost of an ordinary butterfly is from 50 rubles. Tropical butterflies brought from Brazil, the USA, and New Zealand have a high price. One “overseas” butterfly can cost from 4 to 10 dollars or more.
How long do they live?
The transformation of a pupa into a butterfly is quite an exciting process. The head will appear first, then the legs and body. Immediately after birth, she will be motionless, but there is no need to worry - she is just waiting for her wings to dry.
Many breeders are concerned about how long do butterflies live at home? Their lifespan depends on the specific species, as well as the conditions of detention. On average, it ranges from 2 days to 2 weeks. Moreover, in an ordinary apartment their life expectancy is often higher than in natural habitats, where butterflies are threatened by predators.
Marketing approaches
There are several ways to make a profit from butterfly breeding:
- Creation of a special park where exotic insects will be displayed as exhibits. The entrance fee should not be too high, which will attract more visitors.
- Sale of live butterflies. The most profitable option in business. You can use your own apartment to raise insects. The price for one butterfly can vary from 500 to 2,000 rubles. The main thing is to organize advertising correctly so that as many people as possible learn about the service.
- Creation of paintings. It is not always possible to sell all the raised butterflies. In order not to lose your investment, you can start making three-dimensional paintings with butterflies. Such a product can be sold at a cost of 1,000 to 10,000 rubles, depending on the type of butterfly and the size of the painting.
- Wholesale trade. Finished butterflies can be sold to resellers, who will themselves find ways of retail sales. Unused butterflies can be dried and sold to collectors.
As you can see, breeding butterflies at home is a waste-free business with almost zero competition.
What to feed butterflies?
The basis of nutrition of these insects in nature is pollen and nectar of flowers. You can easily prepare it at home by mixing water, sugar and honey (10 parts water and 1 part sugar and honey).
But their diet is not limited to this. For example, they happily consume the juice of slightly rotten fruits: bananas, pears, oranges, melons, apples. Should be fed 2 times a day.
Some species of these insects require sodium to survive. Often butterflies land on the whitened trunks of fruit trees and sweating people - this is how they get the salt they need.
Income and risks
A successful butterfly farming business does not require a huge amount of capital. To start, you will need 200-300 thousand rubles. Smart sales flows will recoup costs and bring profit.
The risks of the butterfly farming business are minimal (mainly problems with maintenance and death of pets). If you establish partnerships and acquire a constant flow of clients, your business will be able to pay off in just 3-6 months. The Internet is used as an advertising campaign and a website is created. An important feature of the business is the sale of insects on time (before the butterflies die due to natural causes).
However, there is a way out: dead insects can be sold as food for fish, birds and large insects.
Is it possible to grow a caterpillar at home?
The full life cycle of butterflies is quite difficult to reproduce at home. In nature, females and males find each other by the pheromones released with the smell, and quite a long courtship takes place between them. Even if you catch a male and a female and place them in your apartment, this does not guarantee that they will mate.
In addition, females of a certain species lay eggs on different types of plants that the caterpillar will feed on. For example, a peacock's eye chooses raspberry leaves, hops, etc.
Therefore, the real way is to find the butterfly caterpillar and take it home along with the plant leaf. Next, it is placed in a special insectarium or a separate container. Keep in mind that caterpillars are quite voracious, so you need to stock up on a sufficient amount of fresh leaves.
After the last molt, the caterpillar pupates, becoming motionless. She can spend up to three weeks in this cocoon state. Then the cocoon breaks through, i.e. in essence, the “birth” of a new butterfly occurs.
Breeding these insects can become an exciting hobby for you, or a source of additional income, if you approach the organization of their habitat correctly. To create comfortable conditions for butterflies, you will need a special insectarium, which can be ordered from. We take into account all the client's wishes regarding sizes and other parameters.
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, you should firmly remember: you cannot 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 hatched and kept. Often, when insects get there, they get stuck and begin to fight. As a result, pollen is lost, the wings become wrinkled or even break. Of course, there will be no benefit from such a crippled butterfly.
Raising mice
There are many options for biotechnology-based businesses. One of them is mouse breeding. The main country exporting experimental rodents is Argentina. The mice are supplied to US research centers as well as university laboratories.
Biotech companies are breeding difficult rodents. These animals are genetically modified, which allows experiments on them to be carried out with the greatest effect.
Marketing approaches
There are several ways to make a profit from butterfly breeding:
- Creation of a special park where exotic insects will be displayed as exhibits. The entrance fee should not be too high, which will attract more visitors.
- Sale of live butterflies. The most profitable option in business. You can use your own apartment to raise insects. The price for one butterfly can vary from 500 to 2,000 rubles. The main thing is to organize advertising correctly so that as many people as possible learn about the service.
- Creation of paintings. It is not always possible to sell all the raised butterflies. In order not to lose your investment, you can start making three-dimensional paintings with butterflies. Such a product can be sold at a cost of 1,000 to 10,000 rubles, depending on the type of butterfly and the size of the painting.
- Wholesale trade. Finished butterflies can be sold to resellers, who will themselves find ways of retail sales. Unused butterflies can be dried and sold to collectors.
As you can see, breeding butterflies at home is a waste-free business with almost zero competition.
Marketing approaches
There are several ways to make a profit from butterfly breeding:
- Creation of a special park where exotic insects will be displayed as exhibits. The entrance fee should not be too high, which will attract more visitors.
- Sale of live butterflies. The most profitable option in business. You can use your own apartment to raise insects. The price for one butterfly can vary from 500 to 2,000 rubles. The main thing is to organize advertising correctly so that as many people as possible learn about the service.
- Creation of paintings. It is not always possible to sell all the raised butterflies. In order not to lose your investment, you can start making three-dimensional paintings with butterflies. Such a product can be sold at a cost of 1,000 to 10,000 rubles, depending on the type of butterfly and the size of the painting.
- Wholesale trade. Finished butterflies can be sold to resellers, who will themselves find ways of retail sales. Unused butterflies can be dried and sold to collectors.
