RFI: releasing butterflies

Liz Swanson/Graceful WIngs gracefulwings at cox.net
Thu Apr 10 17:02:27 EDT 2003


Glenn in response to your concern about releasing butterflies........

Most of the opposition statements on releases are from the North 
American Butterfly Assoc. web site.

Below are some POSITIVE :-)  responses to concerns about releases from 
the IBBA (International Butterfly Breeders Assoc.) There is much more 
info available with opinions from experts listed on the IBBA's web site 
under   Butterfly Release- Why it's OK.   www.butterflybreeders.org

Liz Swanson

Many elementary school students raise and release butterflies as part of 
their science education program. This is a magnificent introduction into 
the wonders of nature for the small children. The release of butterflies 
at funerals, weddings and other events is a very worthwhile, spiritual 
and emotional experience.

The release of butterflies at special events increases public awareness 
of the magnificence of this insect. Hopefully, people will become 
involved in putting a stop to the unbridled destruction of butterfly 
habitat, the indiscriminate use of insecticides and they will develop a 
desire to modify their landscape to include larva host plants and nectar 
plants. Butterflies are the ambassadors of goodwill for the insect world.

Commercial butterfly breeders are meticulous in the raising, packaging 
and shipping of live butterflies so they arrive healthy and vigorous. 
They're not shipped at inappropriate times of the year. The USDA and the 
State Departments of Agriculture will not permit butterflies to be 
shipped and released in areas they do not normally occur. Butterfly 
farmers adhere to USDA permitting regulations and ship butterflies 
interstate for release to the environment ONLY where they occur naturally.

There is no scientific data that commercially raised butterflies spread 
diseases and epidemics to native butterfly populations. To the contrary, 
commercial butterfly breeders must be meticulous to prevent the spread 
of diseases from the wild population to their butterfly stock. If this 
happens, their stock will be completely wiped out and they will have no 
butterflies to release.

In the last 32 years, Insect Lore has shipped out over 8 million Painted 
Lady larvae; and Monarch Watch Program has shipped 250,000 Monarch 
larvae in the last 8 years. No damage to local butterfly populations nor 
to the environment has been reported to have occurred as a result of 
this livestock being sold, raised and released.







Glenn Williams wrote:

> I am currently raising a few Painted Ladies, as is my daughter's 
> kindergarten class.  Could someone direct me to an article or source 
> for information on the danger of releasing these after they have 
> become adults.  I remember reading something about this but I can't 
> recall the details.  I thought it had to do with their hard-wired 
> migratory and navigational ability.  I would like to be able to 
> explain why these buterflies should not be released if it is indeed 
> wrong to do so.
>
>  
>
> Glenn Williams
>
> Mystic, CT
>
>
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