A 74-year-old Kenyan man's lifelong passion for butterflies has resulted in what could be Africa's most extensive butterfly collection, comprising over 4.2 million specimens.
NAIROBI, Kenya — What began as a childhood hobby more than six decades ago has led to what might be Africa's largest butterfly collection in a suburb of Kenya 's capital. Steve Collins, 74, was born and raised in western Kenya . By the age of 5, he was fascinated by butterflies and started building a collection that has grown to more than 4.2 million, representing hundreds of species.
'My parents encouraged us to look for butterflies after visiting the Congo and were gifted a trapping net by some friends,' Collins said. 'By the time I was 15 years old, I was already visiting other countries like Nigeria to study more about butterflies.' During his 20-year career as an agronomist, Collins dedicated his free time to research. He established the African Butterfly Research Institute in 1997. Now, running out of space and time, he hopes to hand it over to the next generation. On his 1.5 acres (0.6 hectare) of land, hundreds of indigenous trees and flowering bushes form a well-knit forest. Hundreds of butterflies dance from one flower to another, at times landing on Collins' hand. His collection is private, although it was initially open to the public when he ran it as an education center between 1998 and 2003. Collins has 1.2 million butterflies from across Africa delicately pinned in frames and stored in rows of shelves, with another 3 million in envelopes. 'They need to be kept in dark spaces,' he said. 'The form of storage also ensures the dried butterflies are not eaten by other insects, parasites and predators. We also ensure we apply insecticides once a year to keep them safe.' Julian Bayliss, an ecologist specializing in Africa and a visiting professor at Oxford Brookes University, said he has collected butterflies for Collins over two decades. 'There is a large part of that collection that is completely irreplaceable because a large part of Africa's habitat is being destroyed,' Bayliss said
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