Raise butterflies and live surrounded by them until they learn to fly: “There’s a big secret”

A few days ago, anyone who went for a walk in Buenos Aires ran the risk of being trapped in the middle of a flock of butterflies. A Studio Ghibli dream come true.

Butterflies have made their celestial appearance amid dengue and thunderstorms in Argentina. There has been a lot of talk without knowing: that they are harbingers of something bad, that they are fleeing from a catastrophe, that they represent a plague.

None of this. What happened is normal. Florence Villalbaa young butterfly influencer – a rare subgenre if there is one -, agrees with what the lepidopterologist CONICET said. Ezequiel Núñez Bustos a few days ago.

According to her there were three factors. First, the migratory season; the second, the “assemblies” -butterflies gather and then migrate together towards warmer places-; three, and this is “the point that makes the difference”, the rains.

“In the last 4 years we have had a lot of drought. It wasn’t raining. Last year and this year it rained a lot, so more plants and more flowers grew and therefore there is more food for the butterflies,” Villalba explained to Clarín.

Those in the “invasion” are mainly butterflies of the lemon and four-eyed species, the breeder added.

On her TikTok account, @flormariposass, the 20-year-old has nearly 520,000 followers. Many of her videos in which she “busts myths” about butterflies or gives advice on raising them far surpass the million-view barrier.

Butterfly enthusiast

How did it all begin? Coincidentally.

Florence and Marcelohis father and right-hand man of the project, discovered their passion for butterflies thanks – sorry for the redundancy – to a passion plant that a neighbor gave them.

One morning, after struggling for days to take care of her, father and daughter had breakfast with a picture of horror: the plant was completely deflowered. Then they learned that the culprits had been evidently hungry caterpillars.

That’s where it all started. A friend from an ecological reserve explained to them that they were “mirror” caterpillars and since then they began to make room for them in the park of their home in Haedo.

How is your situation today with butterflies? Do you have native plants in your home?

I have a park full of native plants that attract butterflies. They are the hosts of the caterpillar, where they lay their eggs and reproduce.

In her TikTok, the International Trade student tries to contribute with her “grain of sand” to raising public awareness about the cultivation of native plants. She does this to help not only butterflies, but other insects as well.

Villalba is distinguished from the “natives” by its beauty and its strange names: Ruelia, Red Canary, Stick of Justice, Altea, Scopa Dura. They are the key to butterfly breeding: “To fill our garden with butterflies we must have native plants. This is the big secret”.

Are the butterflies only in your park or are there some that remain flying inside your house?

No, in the project I try to raise awareness and make people aware of the balance of nature. I try not to break the chains. I show them how to take care of their cycle and avoid predators and never encourage them to keep them or trade with them. As soon as they emerge from the chrysalis they are released.

Florence is often shown with butterflies perched in her hair for creative purposes only. You can do this with someone who has not yet completed their cycle and is “docile” because she is adapting to her new body.

“It’s like being reborn. The transformation of him is totally magical,” Villalba said. When the training process is finished and they flutter for the first time, she releases them with the knowledge that she is doing the right thing: “I can’t keep them.”

So you don’t make money with them…

No. I use the butterfly attraction for my outreach project. So that no insecticides or poisons are used and so that native plants are planted…

What do you like most about butterflies?

I have always had a special sensitivity for all issues related to nature. What happened to them was something that made me aware of the balance of nature. The way they are able to transform and survive many other insects and more made me appreciate their cycle and want to help them.

Have you grown fond of anyone in particular?

It’s a general affection. I do it for the love of taking care of your cycle. I love any butterfly. I also love night moths, also called moths. I like them. But I don’t keep them, they are not my pets.

In a note for Chilean TV you said that you learn from them, why?

Completely. Because it’s a round trip. They also have a spiritual meaning on how to transform and improve every day. They teach you how wonderful cycles can represent people.

There are also a lot of myths out there, right?

As soon as you see a caterpillar or an insect you tend to exterminate it and you don’t realize that, for example, you are cutting the entire chain of a cycle. Butterflies make the presence of plants possible and plants allow the existence of man. It is a whole chain that must not be destroyed.

On TikTok, its strongest network, Florencia, occupies a niche as a creator of content about the lives of butterflies. She advises, dispels myths and sometimes gives plants to her followers to encourage butterfly breeding. And there are those who want to imitate him. Everything flows.