GEORGE TOWN: A little boy’s passion for butterflies eventually led to the birth of one of Penang’s most famous tourist attractions 25 years ago — the Penang Butterfly Farm.

From a very young age, founder David Goh, now in his 60s, had to juggle between school and working to support his family. David’s eldest son, Joseph, said his father had been fascinated with butterflies since he was a child and he turned it into a small business, mounting butterflies and selling them door to door while he was in school.

“He went on to become a teacher as he needed a full-time job, but he still pursued his interest and in 1970/71 he started selling butterflies in various forms to gift shops, though he was never a businessman,” Joseph said.

Through his interest in butterflies David go to know fellow enthusiasts from all over the world, exchanging species like stamp collectors trade stamps, and building his knowledge of  butterflies.

It was an Englishman, Clive Farrell, who encouraged David to set up the butterfly farm, having successfully set up the first living butterfly garden in Europe in the early 1980s.

Both men travelled up and down to visit each other and a few years down the road, the Penang Butterfly Farm was born with a RM200,000 investment borrowed from family members and friends on a 0.8ha site leased from the Penang Water Supply Corp (PBAPP).

Joseph recalls as an eight-year-old boy  following his father into the jungle in search of butterflies, which also stirred his own interest.

An architect by profession, Joseph now runs the business while his father makes weekly visits to the farm located in Teluk Bahang.

Since it opened 25 years ago, the farm has seen more than four million people walk through its doors, 60% of whom are foreigners.

From just being an exhibition of butterflies, it has now evolved into breeding them and educating visitors about butterflies and other insects and animals of the “smaller world”.

“We have put a lot of effort into research, which is not scientific or lab-based, but understanding the habitat and how each species lives to successfully breed them,” Joseph said.

In the 16,000 sq ft walk-in insectarium, there are at least 6,000 to 7,000 butterflies flying around at any one time. Each day, 1,000 new butterflies are released into the insectarium, which creates density and visitors can really experience the butterflies.

Maintaining this density is no easy task. The average lifespan of an adult is two weeks and from egg to full-grown butterfly takes a about a month, depending on the species.

The farm breeds about 120 species of butterflies, all local. The farm is not allowed to breed foreign species as these could affect the ecosystem.

There are six breeding centres, five on the island and one on the mainland. About half of the pupae are taken to the farm for display while the remainder are exported, mostly to Europe and the US.

“These are not for breeding purposes but only to be exhibited at aviaries around the world,” Joseph said.

The farm breeds up to 400,000 butterflies a year and grows the specific plants (organically) each species eats as each has a specific diet. Joseph said one caterpillar can eat an entire plant in four days.

The farm has also evolved into a popular educational centre, with packages catering for those aged three and upwards with options including a two-hour, half day or even a full day butterfly hunting field trip. International schools frequently organise visits to the butterfly farm for their students.

“Unlike other animals, we can show the entire eco-system of the butterflies within a short period,” Joseph said.

Besides butterflies, the farm breeds phasmid insects (leaf-eating insects which look like sticks and twigs) and reptiles.

The farm recently underwent an RM2 million renovation as part of a RM20 million three-phase expansion programme, which includes an additional 0.4ha leased from the PBAPP for 30 years.

Phase 2 will include an 30,000 sq ft indoor insectarium and a four-storey building. Construction is scheduled to start in 2013 and complete in 2014.

This, Joseph says, will raise the bar and set the farm apart from other butterfly farms worldwide.

A new name “Nature Land” has also been trademarked as part of the expansion, to include everything to do with nature in the smaller world but animals found in zoos, he said, adding that phase 3 will be developing the external gardens.

Besides the farm and breeding centres, it also has a factory in the Klang Valley producing souvenirs, which supplies souvenirs focused on nature to the farm’s gift shop.

The exhibition alone earns RM5 million in revenue each year, with RM8 million from other sources, including souvenir merchandising. Joseph also offers consultancy services worldwide.

He began to develop the business beyond Penang’s shores when he took over from his father 12 years ago.

He planned and executed the indoor butterfly garden in Singapore’s Changi Airport in 2008, which taught him the benefits of having a high-volume aviary.

David was responsible for designing and setting up the Kuala Lumpur Butterfly Farm years ago, which has since changed hands, and he has set up a butterfly insectarium on Sentosa Island in Singapore, Phuket in Thailand and Kunming in China.

Joseph has worked with property developer S P Setia to set up a butterfly habitat at a housing project in Selangor and is in the process of completing a butterfly park within a mini zoo in Abu Dhabi.

Other projects in the pipeline include a proposal by Joseph for a S$5 million (RM12 million) national butterfly garden for Singapore, which is being undertaken by the Singapore government.

This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, July 11, 2011.