A butterfly embodies all that is special about nature… free, beautiful, enchanting, and mysterious. To some people a butterfly occupies an exalted status, a very special place in their hearts, and they will travel halfway around the world, spending a few thousand dollars for the joy of spotting a particular butterfly. In 2018, Goran Dusej, a friend from Switzerland, visited Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh, just to see a single butterfly, the Bhutan glory. As a child, Goran had seen a painting of the six most beautiful butterflies of the world, which included the Bhutan glory. Now, close to retirement, Goran still remembered them, and decided to make it a mission to travel the world to see all these species. It is the allure of butterflies, and their ability to communicate all that is special about nature, that has led a mushrooming of butterfly parks and gardens across the country. A well-planned butterfly park, with attractive signage and interpretation material, and trained guides to show visitors around, can do a great job in creating interest in the natural world, leading to respect and protection for it.
Right: Swarms of the plains cupid butterflies appear seasonally on the cycad plant, making the cycad a must-have species in most butterfly gardens.
Cover: Bhutan glory, found in the northeastern Himalayas, lays its eggs on various species of the creeper Aristolochia. Photos: Sanjay Sondhi
In Delhi, for example, Sohail Madan and his team at BNHS, supported by the Delhi Forest Department, have not only set up a butterfly garden at Asola Bhatti WLS, but also run lots of educational workshops for children and adults. Their educational model has been so successful that they are now beginning to involve citizens in annual butterfly counts at multiple locations in Delhi. As part of these counts, groups of citizens record both the number of species and the number of individuals they see in various landscapes across Delhi, to create valuable baseline data about butterflies.
Photo: Sanjay Sondhi
I have visited butterfly parks in the US and Singapore, and for the most part, I was dismayed to see that these parks were like zoos. Most of these parks were enclosed areas, in which butterflies were artificially bred and released. An enclosure for butterflies curtails their freedom. It is precisely on account of this view that I am dead against zoos as well.
For me, nature is beautiful only if it is seen in the wild. A cooped animal in a badly maintained cage is a dreadful way to make people appreciate nature. A caged animal makes people believe that nature is enjoyed when humans tame it. Instead, nature is beautiful, when it is wild, free, and untamed. Fortunately, India has not aped the West and most butterfly parks and gardens in India are set up in natural surroundings, in the outdoors.
The butterfly park at Thenmala in Kerala, on the outskirts of the Shendurney WLS, is another wonderfully designed open-air butterfly park. The park has nifty signages and models, including a humungous caterpillar that children can wander through. During a short walk through the park, I spotted at least 10 different butterfly caterpillars on their larval host plants.
Right: This incredible caterpillar, of the giant redeye butterfly, which looks more like a mass of cotton, was spotted on its larval host plant, at the butterfly park at Thenmala, Kerala. Photo: Sanjay Sondhi
Given my interest in butterflies, I get many calls from people and institutions that want to set up a butterfly park. I assisted the Uttarakhand Forest Department set up the butterfly park at Lacchiwala, on the outskirts of Dehradun. As you enter the Lacchiwala butterfly park, an oversized butterfly greets you at the entrance. Walking through the park, lots of butterflies can be seen flitting about on their nectaring plants, or near their larval host plant, on which they lay their eggs. A wonderful natural trail takes you into the forested part of the park, where there are different butterfly species from the garden. Finally, the path takes you over a lovely walkway, built over a natural stream. From this perch, you can watch butterflies flying below you, above you and around you. Decent signs all around the park provide insights into the life of a butterfly.
I also supported setting up a butterfly garden in the corporate headquarters of ONGC in Delhi, a first-of-a-kind concept of a corporate wanting to create a suitable island habitat for butterflies in the middle of bustling Delhi (currently entry only with prior permission from ONGC).
Photo: Sanjay Sondhi
SET UP A BUTTERFLY GARDEN AT HOME
I know people in Delhi who have a small butterfly garden in their apartment balcony. If you want to set up a butterfly garden in your own home, all you need to do is:
- Make your garden free of pesticides and toxins
- Plant native flowering plants such as the Rangoon creeper, mustard or hibiscus on which butterflies can feed
- Plant larval host plants such as lime, curry leaf, giant milkweed (plants on which the caterpillars of butterflies can feed). This requires knowledge of the local butterfly species and the specific plants on which they prefer to lay their eggs.
BUTTERFLY PARKS IN INDIA
- Thenmala Butterfly Park, Thenmala, Kerala
- Asola Bhatti WLS, New Delhi
- Bengaluru Bannerghatta Biological Park, Bengaluru, Karnataka
- Samillan Shetty Butterfly Park, Mangalore, Karnataka
- Butterfly Conservatory of Goa, Ponda, Goa
- Butterfly Garden, Parvati Darshan, Pune, Maharashtra
- Ovalekar Wadi Butterfly Garden, Thane, Mumbai, Maharashtra
- Butterfly Park, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh
- Shiwalik Butterfly Park & Herbal Garden, Lacchiwala, Dehradun, Uttarakhand
- Himalayan Botanical Garden, Nainital, Uttarakhand
- Butterfly Garden, Eco Park, New Town, Kolkata
About the contributor
