Daijiworld Media Network – Moodbidri (MS)

Moodbidri, Sep 29: Hobby of a youth, who is a native of the taluk, has made seven and half acres of land colourful with various kinds of butterflies.

This butterfly park is situated at Belvai village of the taluk. Sammilan Shetty is the youth who has created this wonder land. He has created this world with the intention of educating and conserving the butterflies. He has reserved seven and half acres of his property for the same purpose.

Sammilan was curious about butterflies from his college days. He used to go on trekking during his free time and used to learn about the life of butterflies. He also made a project on butteflies while he was doing his BSc in Alva's College.

The research project named 'Study of Local Butterflies' gave Sammilan ample opportunity to know more about the species and also quench his curiosity of their life. After completing his MBA degree, he served as a lecturer for sometime in a college in Mangaluru. However, his mind was always glued to the world of butterflies.

In 2011, Sammilan started planting a few host and nectar plants for butterflies near his house in Belvai. This is the first private butterfly park of Karnataka. Many students and nature enthusiasts arrive here to learn about butterflies and their lifecycle.

Sammilan himself becomes the guide and explains the life of butterflies from laying egg to reaching the adult stage. The park has so far recorded 155 species of butteflies including beautiful some of the remarkabke species like Malabar Banded Peacock, Clipper, Orchit Kit, Aberrant Oakblue, Autumn Leaf, Tamil Lacewing and Southern Birdwing and Cruiser. 

The pre-monsoon showers that arrive just before the southwest monsoon, triggers the butterfly activity in this part of the Western Ghats including the butterfy park. People who intend to visit the park can do so anytime from June to November. The time in the morning from 8 to 10 is considered to be the golden time for watching butterflies in the field. However, during the rainy season and cloudy weather, butterflies become lazy and do not fly much. A slight hot weather is best for them to move around.