The Butterfly Effect

"To make a wish come true, you must first capture a butterfly and whisper your wish to it. Then set it free and it will take your wish to the heavens, where it will be granted". This is a fitting legend of a rare flying flower otherwise known as the flying ambassadors of Marinduque Island.

Since it became an export commodity around 30 years ago, these butterflies are now going around the world spreading the goodwill message of conservation of our natural environment.

Butterflies are the barometer of plant diversity. The more butterfly species flying around, the more diverse are the plant species thriving in a particular locality. Caring for butterflies therefore means caring for the environment.

Appreciation of this rare beauty started only recently but it is now fast becoming an international growth industry. There are commercial ventures in Southeast Asia, South America and the South Pacific engaged in breeding butterflies for export to collectors or exhibitors.

There are a range of product groups based on butterflies, such as deadstocks or papered adult butterflies for exhibit and mounting in frames, pupae, and livestock for release during weddings, special occasions or celebrations, launching activities, and for butterfly houses in parks, tourists spots, museums and recreation centers.

The popularity of butterflies in these various uses has grown tremendously. Who has not marveled at a whole bevy of colorful butterflies released at a wedding ceremony or birthday, or to mark the launching of a product or project? Butterflies have also become poular as decor items, in frames for home decoration or as accents in home accessories like lampshades, paper weights, and others.

With more and more people going into butterfly farming or gardening and the continued development of new products and markets for this commodity, there is an urgent need to continue identifying the species of the butterflies in the wild as well as their host plants in order to sustain production and compete with other countries in the export market.

This has led people to have an increased awareness and better appreciation of the environment, especially the forest. People discover that there is much that they can sensibly obtain from the natural vegetation if protected, managed and utilized wisely. This is a lesson that butterflies continue to teach the people of Marinduque.

The butterfly industry in Marinduque, according to Professor Emma Cabildo of Marinduque State College, has been going on for the last three decades. From a simple livelihood project in the 1970’s, it has grown into a thriving industry. The introduction a few years ago of processing of adult deadstocks into finished products like laminated and framed crafts has greatly advanced the development of the industry.

Unknown to many, the island province of Marinduque has become the center of this industry, with more than three-fourths of the total butterfly breeders nationwide based in this island.

Estimates made in 2002 by students Henedina Montreras, Cherry Evangelista and Magdalo Valenzuela of Marinduque State College indicate a positive outlook of the industry. In 2001, the industry generated an estimated sale of P100 million from export of pupa alone. Exported pupa based on the records of the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources reveal an upward trend–from a mere 4,021 pupa exported in 1991 to 71,068 in 1992 and 153,864 in 1993.

This augurs well indeed for an industry that not only spreads beauty, but also results in greater attention to and care for our environment.