FAQs

Weddings

This is something we are asked about on a regular basis! Particularly in the USA, butterflies are often released at weddings (by guests, usually) as a spectacular showpiece.

We do not sell butterflies for this purpose and, since we only sell butterflies in the pupa form, tropical conditions would need to be created to get the butterflies to emerge anyway – rather a lot of work when planning a wedding!

On the whole, indigenous species are used for this sort of release – see the comments under the release FAQ.

If your intention is to release butterflies for a wedding either in Europe or North America, then these may be useful links:
Butterfly Connections – butterflies for release in the UK.
Gribbly Bugs – painted ladies for release in the UK.
Pupa Pavillion – Butterfly Release in Switzerland and surrounding countries for weddings and other events with ingenious species. Butterflies for movies, photos and advertising with ingenious and tropical species. 
Butterfly Events (Monarch butterfly releases in the US only)
Butterfly Celebration (Painted Lady butterflies for release in Europe or the US)

Butterflies for Release

Purchase of butterflies for release is most usually requested for weddings but occasionally other reasons are proffered. The first and most relevant factor is that we only sell butterfly pupae, which means that they need to be emerged into butterflies before they could be released. This requires some expertise and also specialist equipment as all the species we sell are tropical in nature.

Beyond this factor however, is the fact that the species are tropical. Most requests for butterflies for release come from non-tropical regions so the butterflies are simply not suitable. In the first instance without tropical heat and humidity they would not survive well and from the point of view of the wedding, they would be unlikely to “perform”.

Furthermore, as far as the UK is concerned, the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981, prohibits release of species into the wild which are not indigenous or natural, wild visitors. See here.

As this legislation implements the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, this is likely to be the same in all EU countries.

Non-tropical Species

We did once trade some indigenous species such as Tortoiseshells, the Camberwell Beauty and so on. We no longer do so however. The only species we now trade are tropical varieties – a full list is in our catalogue and there is a list of the species available now.

Moths

We do trade some species of moths, although the range is limited, over 98% of our stock being butterflies. Our catalogue has the list of species that we might have over a year, although in truth the most frequently available is Attacus atlas.

Deliveries

Pupae are shipped to our customers by third party delivery companies. We strive for our shipments to arrive in perfect time to our customers (99% Of The Time They Do). Because we are using the services of an external shipping company there can be some outside influences that can affect deliveries which are outside of our control. Such as National Holidays , Late arrival to a country which then means it has missed its connecting flight, Periodic Screening , Customs Clearances and so forth. These are unfortunately outside of our control. Courier companies never 100% guarantee the scheduled delivery to arrive on time and therefore they do not take any responsibility for delays. Shipping costs cannot be reimbursed based on a later than scheduled arrival.

Butterfly “Pupaspan”

Much like the lifespan of a butterfly, the length of time the pupae stays as a pupa varies from species to species. The span can be increased by keeping the pupae cool (relative to tropical temperatures) and retarding their transformation, however, this must be done carefully – making the pupae cold or putting them in a fridge will likely kill them and should never be done.

Some species will only be pupae for three or four days, which makes them almost impossible to trade as they need to get from breeder to The Entomologist and then on to a customer. On average, though, most pupae we trade will be pupae for around a week to ten days, perhaps longer for some papilios. Customers would thus expect butterflies to be emerging, given the correct conditions, between 1 and 5 days from receipt of pupae.

Note that there are exceptions to this with diapause pupae which are essentially pupae in a hibernating form. These can be refrigerated but on exposure to tropical conditions will resume metamorphosis. Nevertheless, the diapause form of Attacus atlas, for instance, can stay a cocoon for many months.

Kits, Emerging Cages and Other Equipment

The Entomologist do not sell any of the peripheral material for breeding or keeping butterflies – this is mostly because over 90% of our customer base is in exhibitions and zoos, so they already have all the equipment they need.

However, for the enthusiast, we do have a hopefully useful description of an emerging cage here.

Kits for breeding or attracting butterflies and other equipment can be found on the internet; these are a few options:
Insect Lore (US), Insect Lore (Europe), Green Gardener (UK)

General Terms & Conditions

Terms of Trade Prices

All prices are in £ sterling or €
The Entomologist Ltd reserves the right to change any or all stated prices as a result of any currency fluctuations.

VAT is charged at standard rate to all UK customers.

 Cancellation Policy

Any cancellation to a pupae order it is important that an advance notice of at least 48 hours must be given before the shipping date, allowing us time to resell the pupae.

An order cannot be cancelled if the order has already been shipped, the customer will be invoiced for the order. 

By placing an order, customers agree to our financial Terms and Conditions and Cancellation policy for pupae.

Pupae

Availability cannot be guaranteed for any species at any time. Should we be unable to deliver a particular species we will include a suitable substitute unless otherwise directed.

All pupae are quality checked before and during packing.

Any claims for losses or damage in transit must be sent within 24 hours of arrival.

After this time no claims will be permitted as we are unable to control the environment once pupae have been received.