HAVE YOU ever wondered why butterflies are always in such a hurry? Maybe it’s because a tropical butterfly lives for 10 days and the giant moth for just two days.
Straffan Butterfly Farm in Co Kildare, run by Des and Iris Fox, is home to exotic butterflies bigger than the human hand as well as a collection of Irish butterflies and the giant atlas moth. Visitors can watch butterflies laying eggs and, if they’re lucky, see a new butterfly spread its wings.
According to the Foxes, though, it is becoming harder to witness scenes like this in nature. They say the destruction and alteration of habitats are responsible for a marked fall in butterfly populations.
Among the most serious threats are the ploughing and improvement of grassland with fertilisers and herbicides, as well as the abandonment of coppices which are being replaced by high forest, often conifer, which shade out the undergrowth necessary for butterflies.
Visitors to the farm are advised by the Foxes to plant flowers which provide food for the butterflies.
At this time of year, the peacock and small tortoiseshell butterflies need large amounts of nectar to survive their winter hibernation.
Some of the flowers suggested by the Foxes include lavender, sweet William, valerian, verbena, polyanthus, heliotrope, wallflowers, Michaelmas daisies and phlox.
However it is not all about the pretty things down on the farm. Ms Fox says children often love the giant tarantulas, scorpions and stick insects. Unlike the butterflies and moths, these live in glass cages.
The farm hibernates for winter and will close at the end of August.
An Irish Wildlife Trust wild watch walk takes place at Straffan farm on August 27th from 1pm to 5pm. The farm is open every summer, seven days a week from noon to 5.30pm.
Tickets are €8 for adults and €5 for kids, with a family ticket at €25. Visit straffanfarm.com