PTK Butterfly Centre

The Pha Tad Ke butterfly breeding and conservation centre have been operating since 2018 and promote alternative livelihoods and forest conservation in Laos. The PTK butterfly breeding and conservation Centre is a collaboration with the Banteay Srey Butterfly breeding and conservation centre in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Butterfly farming is the production of butterfly pupae for sale to local butterfly exhibits or for export to zoos and live exhibitions. Butterfly farms are situated in close proximity to areas of natural forest and provide an alternative, sustainable, income to rural communities.

Butterfly farms have been established in many tropical countries worldwide – including the Philippines, Cambodia, Thailand, Costa Rica, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania.

There are many advantages of butterfly farming:

For the community participating in butterfly farming, the advantages are a diversification in the income generating activities, work that can be done at home with simple and cheap equipment and work that can be organized around domestic and childcare duties. Butterfly farming raises awareness among farmers, local residents, and decision makers of the benefits of conservation.
Unlike other forms of tropical agriculture, butterfly farming provides an economic incentive to conserve natural forests, as the long-term survival of the butterfly farm requires intact habitats. As the primary cause of species extinction is habitat destruction, this is beneficial to all local plant and animal species.
Farmed butterflies are reared in enclosures and there should be limited extraction from the wild once farming is up and running – farming has a minimal impact on the wild butterfly population and when well-run can increase wild populations through planting of larval foodplants and nectar sources.

Laos Butterfly List

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