Butterflies and Moths Matter!
By Safina Center Fellow Alain Rasolo
Alain Rasolo and Rajeriarison Emile work together to plan out their educational course, “Lolo Ao Ranomafana.” ©Alain Rasolo
In collaboration with wildlife researcher Rajeriarison Emile, Safina Center Fellow Alain Rasolo is creating an educational course on the butterflies and moths of Ranomafana, Madagascar. The two hope to teach younger generations of children to understand the importance of the wildlife around them and inspire them to pursue conservation. Below is a brief section of the interviews that Alain conducted with Rajeriarison.
Rajeriarison Emile ©Alain Rasolo
“Salama! My name is Rajeriarison Emile, I work as a wildlife researcher at Centre Valbio. I also have a long history in the field of research and tour guiding here at Ranomafana National Parks. Now my research is focusing on insects and especially moths and butterflies.
You know, moths and butterflies are such interesting creatures and there are probably over 1,000 species of them here in Ranomafana, they live both in and outside of the park.
It’s true that there are moths and butterflies that are a nuisance to human plantations, for example the Fall armyworm Moth whose caterpillars would eat corns and other types of crops too, and that is something that makes humans upset. But they are just other living things like us and so we shouldn’t be mad at them for trying to live.
More importantly, moths and butterflies are among those that help us humans because they pollinate flowers and that is something that we really need! They move pollens from one flower to another and that’s how we get the fruits to sustain us. There are also butterflies that do not pollinate nor drink nectars but only water or salt from the earth as the only food source during reproduction. Some of them are also very eye catching because of how many colors they have. They are also part of the composting process because the caterpillars are eating the leaves and then they drop their poop on the ground and that gives composts for the trees to grow. Butterflies are also contributing to the economy because people collect and frame them to be sold to tourists. Their colors are also an inspiration to use for paint composition, such as on cars and fabrics, for example. We need to protect them because they help the lives of us humans. They live in nature, they also want to be many and they’re asking us “Please protect us, let’s protect each other!” and that’s what’s called symbiosis.
There is a saying that butterflies appease us humans when we are stressed or angry, because when butterflies fly in front of us in such a gentle way, we get distracted and forget about our anger. People also often compare their love to butterflies, when the way they love a person is so colorful and plentiful!”
Poster advertising the upcoming “Lolo Ao Ranomafana” designed by Alain Rasolo. ©Alain Rasolo