Quote Originally Posted by Allan Teo
The orange butterfly was taken at phuket butterfly farm and insectarium. I do not recommend going as the place is very run down and no live insects. All insects are dead and breaking into pieces. Entry 200Baht.
Simon... oops! Missed Allan's advice regarding the butterfly farm. I was there some time in 2000, if I recall correctly. The place was quite interesting with many exotic species. Perhaps you can check out with the locals first before going there. In any case, 200baht is not a lot of money compared with the butt farms around the region. I stayed at the Allamanda hotel where there were also many butts around the Lantana in the gardens.

That 'orange butterfly' (it's called Dryas julia) - supposedly a South American butt which can be found in Mexico and Peru. It belongs to the family Heliconiidae which, like our local Danainae, are 'poisonous' to some predators.

Some species of this family have been known to survive for up to 6 months - making it the longest-surviving family of butterflies, compared to the average of 2-4 weeks for most tropical butterflies.

There was a good article on Heliconiids in a past issue of the National Geographic. Those who subscribe to it can read all about this fascinating family of butterflies.