An exhibition of live butterflies opens at Straffan in County Kildare.
Desmond and Iris Fox have created the exhibition on their butterfly farm which is home to over 1,500 butterflies. The couple set up the reserve to protect Ireland's endangered butterflies.
Desmond Fox explains the rationale behind their decision to establish the butterfly reserve.
A combination of drainage, insecticides, pesticides, weed killers is all taking their toll on the natural butterfly population.
There are several breeds of butterflies that are now extremely rare. It would not take a lot of additional upset to their natural habitat before they would be wiped out.
Desmond and Iris Fox have recently begun breeding tropical butterflies and are now looking for homes for a thousand caterpillars. New owners can witness their butterflies emerge for a price of just three pounds.
Keeping butterflies is not cheap and it costs the Foxes five thousand pounds a year to run the 12,000 sq ft butterfly house. Iris Fox does most of the work in the butterfly house which can involve hand feeding 20 to 30 butterflies every day. If a butterfly is doing poorly, it must be hand fed with a glucose and water solution. This is a delicate job that requires uncurling the butterfly’s tongue with a pin.
Each butterfly takes up to five minutes to feed by hand.
Other pets from the Fox household will also be on show including 12 year old 'Fangs’ the tarantula.
He can jump eight feet and can kill a small bird with his teeth. Then, he’ll eat it.
The couple's two year old son Ian Fox is shown with a six inch long wood insect.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 9 August 1985. The reporter is Maggie O’Kane.
