Business selling butterfly pupae. Business plan for a park of living tropical butterflies. Reviews and comments

South African and Australian butterflies are represented in a wide variety of wildlife. The world of amazing lepidopteran beauties will win the heart of any spectator at the holiday in an instant. Keeping and breeding butterflies at home is quite a troublesome and financially expensive task. If the owner of insects is seriously passionate about entomology, and his life’s work brings moral satisfaction, then it is worth starting breeding beautiful insects with the aim of starting a business. In this case, the activity becomes a “gold mine” for the owner of butterflies.

Types of butterfly breeding business and necessary tools

The presentation of moths as a business was founded in Russia about 14 years ago. Butterflies were in demand among customers during festive events, so various agencies specializing in celebrations began to provide butterflies to “decorate” the holiday through the performance of acrobatic acts by specially trained butterflies. Teaching a flock of winged insects to perform tricks while flying was a task requiring certain knowledge and skills, and therefore labor-intensive, since it required maintaining the attention of spectators for a certain period of time.

The next direction for selling butterflies as a business product was the establishment of parks with conditions close to tropical ones. In the parks, visitors can stroll among a variety of living butterflies, and then purchase a beauty for their home collection, creating it the necessary conditions for a comfortable stay.

The third direction is the sale of panels made of dried moths.

At first glance, it seems that all types of exploitation of moths are unprofitable, since they require large financial costs. This assumption has no sound basis, because all financial calculations are determined by a specific business plan, which contains several components.

In order to develop a business at home for breeding butterflies, the following objects will be useful for individual entrepreneurs:

a room consisting of 1-3 rooms with a ceiling height of at least 3 meters;
an insectarium with a “smart” system for maintaining a constant temperature and humidity level inside the structure;
tropical plants that serve as a source of food for pupae and a habitat for butterflies;
pupae of South African, South American and New Zealand butterflies.

Main types of expenses for starting a mini-business

It became possible to significantly reduce the cost of purchasing an insectarium thanks to drawings for constructing it with your own hands that appeared on the Internet. The climate control system should be purchased from trusted suppliers, manufacturers in Germany, France, Austria, Belgium.

The purchase of 1-3 tropical plants will not affect the financial well-being of the entrepreneur, but the purchase of rare butterfly pupae tropical species will become a significant expense item. 1 broad-winged butterfly lives from 1 to 15 days, the cost reaches 35 US dollars per piece, pupae are sold exclusively in batches of 100 pieces. Accordingly, an individual entrepreneur will have to spend $3,500 once every 2 weeks, or $700 per month, and this amount of costs is not affordable for every beginning entrepreneur. It is necessary to take into account the fact that 1/3 of the pupae are defective, weak due to physical health, which never turn into caterpillars, despite all the sellers’ admonitions about the quality and vitality of the product offered.

Starting a business comes with its own expense items, such as:

purchase of special equipment for installation indoors (insectarium, climate control system, tropical plants), which will amount to about 20 thousand rubles in the total cost;
purchase of the first 3 batches of butterflies, which will amount to 105 thousand rubles in total cost.

South African butterflies are easy to care for: the owner needs to cut fresh fruit and place diluted honey and water for the butterflies in a bowl every day. For better growth and development of moths, you should add a powdered immune stimulator for small pets, which is purchased at a veterinary pharmacy, to a solution of water and honey. If the owner of insects is faced with the fact that the immunomodulator is not available in powder form, you should buy an analogue of the drug in tablet form and grind it into powder using paper and a device for rolling out dough, placing the tablets inside a sheet of paper folded in half and walking over it several times with a rolling pin.

Business plan valid in case of opening of the park

If an entrepreneur decides to open an open-air butterfly park, when calculating the business plan estimate, one should be guided by the size of the area required to create the park. As a rule, for 1 park with moths you need to purchase:

1-4 insectariums, or made by hand;
12 lots of pupae (4 insectariums × 3 lots of pupae suitable for living within the boundaries of 1 structure);
12 tropical plants (4 designs × 3 types of plants, suitable for 1 device);
4 climate control systems.

Thus, the individual entrepreneur will have to take $420 out of his pocket every 2 weeks to purchase broad-winged moths. Other types of expenses are incurred by the owner of the moths one-time.

In order to ensure maximum efficient work of the above systems, it is necessary to thermally insulate insectariums using dense transparent polyethylene film ( a budget option), covering all parts of the structure with it and creating a canopy over the insectarium in such a way that the insects were inside the protective frame and were visible to visitors. This type of thermal insulation structure has one significant drawback: it is applicable only in the spring - autumn period, when the air temperature is between 0 - plus 18 degrees Celsius. The best option Preserving the life expectancy of butterflies will be a greenhouse built by professional craftsmen, or created with your own hands.

The entrepreneur must include in the monthly expense item (negative balance) wages for 3 employees:

accountant-cashier;
security guard;
administrator;
rent for the territory allocated for the park;
2-time purchase of 12 batches of butterflies per month.

At the same time, it is worth taking into account the fact that the individual entrepreneur himself works intensively in his park, since becoming a full-fledged entrepreneur with a large staff of up to 20 people will lead to a complete leveling of the profitability of the business due to the unprofitability of paying many employees. The cost of paying employees if the park operates according to the “economy” option will be about 100 thousand rubles per month. If we proceed from calculating the profit of an individual entrepreneur for 3 types of activities at once (selling dried panels, operating a park and providing a flock of moths for celebrations), then the profitability of the business will become quite high to form a stabilization fund for the enterprise and cover daily expenses.

Calculation of “net” profit per month from the sale of butterflies

For example, the cost of 1 entrance ticket to a home with live butterflies or a park is 600 rubles. When 15 people visit the park per day, the revenue is 9,000 rubles per day and 252,000 rubles per month. 1 butterfly is sold at a price that increases from 800 to 1100 rubles. A wholesale batch of 4-6 pieces is sold at a price ranging from 600 to 900 rubles. A batch of dolls purchased for $35 will generate revenue of $70.

Selling panels of dried moths is the least risky business in this type of business, produced at home. The cost of the panel is about 1.5 thousand rubles. By selling 1 product every day for 20 working days, you can get revenue within 30 thousand rubles. Having summed up all types of income, the conclusion became obvious that the entrepreneur received 700 thousand rubles per month in profit without deducting the total amount of expenses.

The negative balance in the form of part of the expenses amounts to several thousand rubles, since 100 thousand are deducted for paying employees, 840 dollars for the purchase of 12 batches of dolls twice a month and 60 thousand for paying the rental cost of the land. The entrepreneur remains to take advantage of 2 hundred thousand rubles of “net” profit.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it remains to advise that it is possible to save on the purchasing expense of a large number of batches of dolls by purchasing a smaller number of batches: not 12 batches, but 10 or even 8. Beginning entrepreneurs who want to organize the sale of “live” goods should draw up a business plan, based on the number of purchased batches of dolls. If the product fails to resell, the individual entrepreneur suffers a complete loss of the invested funds. For this reason, you should start own business thoroughly, rationally weighing all the disadvantages and advantages.

The optimal activity from the point of view of monetary costs is breeding live butterflies at home.

A. Goncharuk, [email protected]

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If you make a global ranking of the most beautiful insects, then butterflies will undoubtedly take first place. It is unlikely that anyone can resist the natural beauty of these incredible creatures. According to scientists' research, the first butterflies inhabited our planet back in the days of dinosaurs - in Jurassic period. These days, these insects can be found on all continents, with the possible exception of Antarctica. Today we know over 200 thousand species of butterflies. Among them there are dwarfs several millimeters long, and real giants with a wingspan of up to 30 centimeters.

It is also curious that these bright and beautiful creatures have long ceased to be just an object of research for entomologists. Today, various companies involved in organizing holidays and other significant events are happy to use butterflies as a living decoration for special events. And butterfly breeding is turning from a less common hobby into a promising and highly profitable business.

Who buys butterflies?

As mentioned above, the main consumers of these insects are various holiday agencies. And their clients, in turn, are fairly wealthy citizens of our country. After all, the cost of one butterfly sometimes reaches 1500-2000 rubles. And, naturally, almost no one orders these beautiful insects in a single copy. If earlier (and even now) a couple was released during a wedding celebration, today their place is gradually taken by live tropical butterflies. The so-called fireworks of live butterflies. It is “prepared” as follows.

Slightly cooled and devoid of the desire to fly, the butterflies are placed in a beautiful holiday box, decorated with gift paper and ribbons. The number of insects depends on the wishes and capabilities of the client.

The more butterflies in the box, the cheaper each of them costs. For example, a mini-fireworks display of three tropical butterflies will cost the customer an average of 3,000 rubles. And a huge “charge” of 50 insects will cost “only” 35,000 rubles. Of course, a lot depends on the type of butterfly. Some especially valuable breeds are valued at 3,000-4,000 rubles per piece.

The box is closed and taken to gala event. The temperature inside rises at the right moment. The box opens and bright colorful butterflies fly out of it in a beautiful stream. This spectacle, it must be said, is very unusual and fascinating. Everyone remains impressed - both the heroes of the occasion and their many guests.

They also practice another option for decorating the holiday with tropical butterflies. They are placed in special envelopes, one in each. These envelopes are distributed to guests. At the right moment, on a signal, everyone opens their envelopes, and dozens of beautiful butterflies fly out. Such a launch also creates great excitement among the guests. Everyone tries to follow the flight path of their own butterfly. And after the end of the event, guests often try to catch their butterfly and take it to their home, where it will delight the eye for several more weeks.

Butterflies are used not only for fireworks, but also as individual unusual gifts. Just imagine how your significant other or your friends give you a box in which sits a butterfly of unearthly beauty. Those who have already received similar gifts say that the impression remains very strong. It is simply impossible to forget such a beautiful and unusual gift.

Butterflies are actively used in large cities of our country. But even there, finding such an unusual service as butterfly fireworks is not so easy. As for provincial cities, here this type“decorations” for holidays and special events are completely absent. This, in turn, opens up broad prospects for aspiring entrepreneurs who are ready to connect their future activities with. Few people know that to grow these beautiful creatures you do not need to create a full-fledged laboratory. Everything can be implemented right at home.

Breeding butterflies at home

The easiest way is to find several fat caterpillars somewhere in nature, bring them home, and plant them in a three-liter jar. Next, you need to wait until the caterpillar weaves a cocoon and turns into a pupa. After some time (from several days to several weeks), the pupa will hatch into a butterfly. That's all, actually. The only negative is that in this way you can only get local species of butterflies, which are unlikely to have fantastic colors. This means that you are unlikely to be able to sell them profitably to holiday organizing agencies. This is the path of the average insect lover. We are interested in the path of an entrepreneur.

And for business, tropical breeds of butterflies are perfect. They are simply fantastic appearance and quite large in size. You won't be able to find them in the nearest forest. Unless, of course, you are a resident of Brazil or New Zealand. There are three options left. The first is to purchase caterpillars from entrepreneurs who practice butterfly breeding. The second is to go to the tropics yourself and collect caterpillars there. After this, all that remains is to transport the invaluable cargo to your apartment. The third option for starting a business is optimal. You need to find and order a batch of pupae of the butterfly breed you need via the Internet. Nowadays, finding companies that sell dolls is not at all difficult. The cost of dolls of tropical breeds is from 50 to 300 rubles per piece. Delivery is carried out by mail or courier.

For successful cultivation and further breeding of these insects, it is necessary to create conditions in your apartment that are as close as possible to the places where certain types of butterflies live. At home, caterpillars, cocoons and butterflies are kept in insectariums (aquariums for insects). Different types of butterflies require different sized living spaces. You can read about this in numerous literature. It is interesting that even caterpillars of many breeds require quite large containers for their cultivation. In small “enclosures” they can die. Because we're talking about about tropical species, you must understand that the insectarium must be maintained at high temperatures and high humidity. Just like in a tropical forest. This can be achieved with the help of heaters and humidifiers, which are not difficult to find in any pet store.

It is much more difficult to solve the problem of feeding. If you breed tropical butterflies, you will also have to feed the caterpillars tropical plants. Some “butterfly farmers” are trying to replace them with other plants or even artificial mixtures. But this trick is not successful with all species. There is only one option left - to grow the necessary plants in a greenhouse. And some butterfly breeders do just that. Keep in mind that you will need quite a lot of feed. After all, it is known that caterpillars have a very good appetite. As for butterflies, managing their diet is somewhat easier. They are fed natural honey, sugar and sweet fruits.

Small dry twigs must be placed in the container for raising butterflies. They are necessary so that the butterfly, after being born, can hang upside down and spread its wings. In this position, she dries her wings for several hours. If this does not happen, then she will never be able to fly. And it is unlikely that you will be able to sell such insects to your clients.

What to do with unsold butterflies?

Even if you didn’t manage to sell all your butterflies on time, don’t be upset. After all, even dried butterflies can be sold profitably to true connoisseurs of beauty and art. You just need to frame them in a beautiful wooden frame, and the unusual three-dimensional painting is ready. It is curious that the cost of such a composition consists of the prices of the butterfly itself and the frame. A small painting with one butterfly costs an average of 2,000 rubles. Considering this state of affairs, butterfly breeding can be called a very profitable and virtually waste-free business.

It is unlikely that anyone can resist the incredible beauty of butterflies. The graceful shapes and unsurpassed colors of the iridescent wings are simply amazing. Nowadays, these insects can be found in all countries of the world. Today, science knows more than 200 thousand species of butterflies. Among them there are tiny ones only a few millimeters long, and giants with a wingspan of up to 30 centimeters.

It is impossible not to take into account the fact that these beautiful creatures have long been not only an object of research, but also a promising and highly profitable business. Now breeding winged flowers is a beauty that brings profit.

Who buys butterflies?

The main consumers of these wonderful insects are various holiday agencies.

The pigeons, which were previously released during wedding celebrations, have been replaced by the so-called “live tropical butterfly fireworks.” The cost of one such butterfly fluctuates around 1500-2000 rubles, but no one will order one butterfly, otherwise what kind of fireworks will you get?

When ordering, the moths are slightly cooled (so they don't have the urge to fly) and placed in a beautiful and colorful holiday box decorated with ribbons and holiday paper. After the box with the “surprise” is delivered to the special event, it is heated at the right moment and the butterflies are released, eager to fly. Such a mesmerizing spectacle will not leave anyone indifferent, and the guests will certainly enjoy it.

Butterflies are actively used by holiday agencies in big cities, where this business flourishes, but not every agency can boast of such an unusual and colorful service. As for provincial, small towns, in most cases there is no gift from butterflies.

Also, only a few people know that to grow butterflies at home, you don’t need to create a whole laboratory with various flasks and glass boxes. To do this, just read the following recommendations, and you will be able to breed these beautiful creatures right at home, and also build a good business from it.

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Breeding moths at home

The first thing that will most likely come to your mind is to find the largest and fattest caterpillar in the area, put it in a three-liter jar and wait to see what comes out of it. But the downside is that from this breeding you will only get a type of butterfly that will not please you with its special and bright colors, because this is the way of breeding butterflies as a common hobby, and we need a good and profitable business.

Therefore, you are more likely to be interested in tropical species of butterflies. They have a simply wonderful appearance and are quite large in size. It is clear that you won’t be able to find them in the nearest forest, and therefore you can purchase them either from entrepreneurs who practice butterfly breeding, or order them online. Prices for pupae of tropical species are approximately 50-300 rubles per piece. Delivery is carried out by courier (directly to your home) or by mail.

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Prerequisites

Your task is to provide insects with conditions that are as close as possible to the places where they live. Therefore, be patient, gather your willpower, and you can start breeding, and then good business with a stable income.

At home, caterpillars, cocoons and moths are kept in special aquariums - insectariums. It is worth considering that different types of butterflies require different sizes of this aquarium. It is even interesting that large species of butterflies can die if the “living space” is too small for them; this is also worth paying attention to. In insectariums, high temperatures and high humidity must be maintained, as if in a tropical forest. To do this, you can use heaters and humidifiers, which are easy to find in any pet store.

The feeding problem is a little more difficult to solve. You will need to fork out money for a greenhouse, because you need to feed the insects with special tropical plants, and you will have to grow them yourself. Keep in mind that you will need a lot of so-called food, because caterpillars are real gluttons. But when it comes to feeding butterflies, things are simpler; they are fed with natural honey, sweet fruits and sugar.

We received a question from Tatyana: “How can you grow a butterfly at home? How long does she live in captivity?

Cats, dogs, parrots, reptiles, fish, even spiders and cockroaches... All these pets are no longer uncommon at home. But you want something new, unusual and beautiful! And butterflies will give you just such feelings. Because today you can admire them not only in nature, but also at home.

How to grow a butterfly at home

In fact, caring for a butterfly will not be difficult. The main thing that is required from the owner of future beauty is patience. As you know, butterflies go through several stages in their development:

eggs;
caterpillars;
pupae;
butterflies.

There are several ways to start breeding butterflies.

Before searching for eggs, do some research on your butterfly species to understand where the insects lay their eggs.
Carefully place the found eggs in a small transparent plastic container (in a large one there is a risk that the eggs will dry out). It is better to transfer the eggs not with your hands, but with available materials: a stick, a leaf.
There is another way to get butterfly eggs: catch an adult and place it in an aquarium or similar container. Place there the leaves of the plant that this particular type of butterfly feeds on. Subsequently, she will lay eggs on one of the leaves.

When you have received the eggs, wait for the little caterpillars to emerge from them. If you stored them in a plastic container, immediately move them to the aquarium with leaves of the food plant (those leaves on which you found eggs or caterpillars).
If you decide to get caterpillars right away, just bring them home and follow the pattern above.
Place napkins or soft paper under the leaves and spray it with water from time to time to maintain the required level of moisture. For butterflies, the optimal humidity is 60-90%.
Also, caterpillars should be carefully protected from direct sunlight.
The home of future butterflies should be large enough to provide room for growth and development.
Do not forget to constantly add new food that the caterpillars feed on.
Be sure to remove caterpillar droppings, as they can serve as a source of infection and cause rot.
Place several upright sticks or branches with leaves in the aquarium. When the caterpillars pupate, they will need to cling to something to hang on to.

You should know that moth pupae turn into mature individuals in the ground: for them, it will be necessary to cover the bottom with a layer of soil.

Before the pupation process itself, the behavior of the caterpillars changes: they stop eating and begin to behave restlessly.
When the caterpillar hangs on the branch, you will notice how it begins to spin a cocoon around itself. When she is completely in the cocoon, you can start counting. Soon you will have real live butterflies!
Having emerged from the pupa, the butterfly hangs on a branch for a while to spread its wings. If there are no branches nearby and the butterfly does not spread its wings on them, it will not be able to fly.
Feeding an adult butterfly is very simple: they eat honey or sugar (mixed with a little water), fresh fruit and even fruit with foulbrood.

Reproduction in captivity

A couple of days after the “birth” of the butterflies you can mate. But you will need several generations of butterflies to mate, because the males hatch a little earlier than the females (by a few days). Remember that on the fourth day of life, butterflies will no longer be able to reproduce.

For mating itself, you will need a room, at least three meters in height, for the free movement of butterflies, an insectarium. In the room you need to create high temperature– 28-30 degrees Celsius. Make sure there is sufficient humidity.

Marine aquariums, reptiles and even predatory animals have already become commonplace in the homes of city residents, but live butterflies have always been and remain exotic! Butterflies are the most beautiful creatures that excite people's imagination with their lightness and beauty. Graceful various shapes and the incredible colors of the iridescent wings are amazing.

The easiest way is to find caterpillars. Just look for large-sized and beautiful caterpillars, because small ones will suddenly turn into moths :) I will give only some photos of the caterpillars from which butterflies will appear, which are widespread in our area.

caterpillar and butterfly

For a more detailed determination of which butterfly will emerge from the caterpillar, you can download it for free.

Caterpillars must be treated with special care, as they are easily injured (). Therefore, in order to transfer a caterpillar to a nursery, tear off the leaf on which it is sitting or use a cotton swab for replanting.

To observe the transformation from a caterpillar into a butterfly, it is enough to acquire a transparent container; any food container or a three-liter bottle will do for this, but if you also want to photograph the transformation process or professionally breed butterflies, then it is better to make an aquarium that will be used as insectaria.

You can put a few napkins at the bottom of the container and put enough food leaves on top so that the caterpillars can eat plenty.

For different caterpillars, of course, the food is different, so it is advisable to use the vegetation on which you found the caterpillar.

It is very important to constantly change the vegetation to prevent it from drying out and rotting. And so that the vegetation does not dry out so quickly, you can periodically moisten the napkins from a spray bottle.

To prevent the caterpillars from scattering, close the jar with a lid with holes or gauze, securing it with an elastic band.

Having reached their maximum size, the caterpillars prepare for pupation. They stop feeding, usually excrete liquid excrement - shed excess water, and sometimes change color.

The pupation process is very interesting. In general, it is approximately the same - the caterpillar secretes something like a sticky web and weaves a cocoon. Cocoons are very diverse: sometimes soft and transparent, like cotton wool, and sometimes very durable, hard and opaque. The shape and structure of the cocoon directly depends on the type of butterfly. And some caterpillars even pupate in the ground, such as moths.

Usually the caterpillar does not pupate for long - 2-3 days. Now you need to know what to do next with the doll. Some species will hatch within a week, while some need to be kept in the cold for about a month or longer - overwintering pupae. Therefore, do not forget to periodically moisten the container.

When a butterfly emerges from the pupa, it needs to hang (upside down) so that its wings can spread. To do this, vertically gnarled branches are placed next to the pupae or strips of toilet paper are hung so that the butterfly can climb on them. If the butterfly does not hang its wings down, then they will not straighten and it will not be able to fly. The drying process takes several hours, after which the butterfly is able to fly.

At home, butterflies readily feast on honey or sugar, slightly diluted with water. Overripe fruits will also not go unnoticed.

House-raised butterflies are tame than their wild counterparts. They can calmly sit on your hands and will not be afraid of your approach. The main thing is not to accidentally crush them.

In addition to the usual butterflies that can be found in our regions, there are butterflies that differ from ours in brighter colors and larger sizes.

To do this, you will need to start your journey by purchasing dolls. Nowadays you can purchase tropical butterfly pupae online. Just type “” in a search engine and you will be presented with several online stores that will send you dolls by mail.

For example:
Pupae of large tropical butterflies with a wingspan of 12-15 cm. – 3 – 10$

Pupae of small tropical butterflies with a wingspan of 8-12 cm - $2

The ideal option is to breed butterflies in a greenhouse or conservatory, but you can also use an insectarium, while ensuring stable temperature and humidity using a controller (which can be found in a reptile pet store).

If you want it to fit into the design of your apartment,

We hang the pupae in the insectarium and wait a couple of weeks for a miracle to appear.

In addition, current fashion dictates its own rules, and now butterflies are a beauty that brings profit.