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The National Crop Protection Center (NCPC) held a webinar entitled “Butterfly Farming: A Viable Livelihood Opportunity” last November 11. More than 200 participants joined the event via Zoom, YouTube, and Facebook.

The webinar consisted of two parts. The first was a lecture delivered by Dr. Bonifacio F. Cayabyab, a retired entomologist from NCPC. He discussed the biology of butterflies, their different species, their host plants, their value, and their commercial uses. He presented a video of bred butterflies and discussed in detail the procedure for rearing butterflies.

Dr. Cayabyab further shared how butterflies can be a source of livelihood, citing their use in ecotourism and souvenirs. He also showed data on the cost of engaging in butterfly farming and its return on investment, and discussed the legal requirements for engaging in this industry.

In the second part of the webinar, Mr. Genaro A. Katimbang, Agriculture Technician of NCPC, gave a demonstration of butterfly rearing. Mr. Katimbang, along with Mr. Willie S. Sagado, Laboratory Technician of NCPC, also showed how butterflies can be made into framed souvenirs.

Other butterfly souvenirs cited during the discussions are keychains, paperweights, and bookends. Butterfly release during weddings, funerals, birthdays, blessings of buildings, and political rallies were also mentioned as possible income source.

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