Butterfly Farm

Over 30 years ago Clive Farrell had a dream to create an attraction that would introduce visitors to the wonderment of butterflies. This dream became a reality in July 1985 when Stratford-upon-Avon Butterfly Farm opened its gates to the public.

The Stratford Butterfly Farm has been welcoming visitors to its tropical butterfly paradise for over three decades. The idea and setting up of the Butterfly Farm was the passion and dream of internationally renowned lepidopterist, Clive Farrell. The farm was officially opened on 24th July 1985 by botanist and naturalist, David Bellamy OBE.

Clive’s fascination with butterflies and nature began when he was five years old after finding a hairy caterpillar in his garden. He put it in a matchbox where it spun a cocoon and he watched it emerge as a beautiful Tiger Moth. It was a magical moment that has stayed with him. It is Clive’s hope that a visit to the Butterfly Farm will create such memorable moments for other generations to experience and be inspired by.

Behind the scenes an industrious team works tirelessly not only to bring pupae to Stratford Butterfly Farm but also to export and supply butterfly houses across the globe! To be able to do this we import from a variety of international butterfly farms, providing a sustainable income for the local community and conservation projects.

In 1991, following on from the successful launch of the Stratford Butterfly Farm, Clive joined forces with Ray Harbard to create the Fallen Stones Butterfly Farm in Belize.

The Belize butterfly farm is operated as a nature reserve that sustains local employment without having a negative impact on the local environment. The farm is treasured by the local Kekchi Maya villagers not just for the nature conservation benefits but for the considerable positive impact on the local community where so many young people would otherwise be out of work.

It has a highly successful breeding programme and supplies butterfly houses across the world. These Belizean butterflies can be seen as messengers from the fast dwindling rainforest, to you the visitor. They are infinitely precious and by protecting their natural habitat we protect all the other animals that live there, from jaguars to leaf cutter ants and everything in between!

Many of the beautiful butterflies that can be seen at Stratford Butterfly Farm are supplied by the Fallen Stones Butterfly Farm in the Maya Mountains of Belize. On its doorstep is the ancient Maya site of Lubaantun, which translates to ‘place of the fallen stones’, which is where the farm gets its name from. The people that work at the Fallen Stones Butterfly Farm are present-day Maya and this is the area where the ancient Maya once lived. It is the perfect environment for the types of plants that butterflies need to be able to feed and breed.

This fascinating connection between the Maya and Stratford Butterfly Farm has inspired us to exhibit throughout the farm, Maya and Mesoamerican replica sculptures and interpretation to inform our visitors of the amazing Maya civilisation and their culture.

Butterfly Farm

Butterfly Farm

Butterfly Farm

Butterfly Farm

Butterfly Farm

Butterfly Farm

Butterfly Farm

Butterfly Farm

Butterfly Farm

Butterfly Farm

Butterfly Farm

Butterfly Farm

Butterfly Farm

8 Comments CherryPie on Jan 10th 2023

8 Responses to “Stratford-upon-Avon Butterfly Farm”

  1. Hels says:

    It is difficult to believe the patterns on the butterflies’ wings are naturally occurring. The patterns and colours look as if they were designed by a very clever artist.
    Thank you to the Fallen Stones Butterfly Farm in the Maya Mountains of Belize.

  2. Great photos. We visited years ago when the children were little. I do remember I had terrible problems with my camera lens steaming up – it took ages to acclimatise!

  3. Ha ha, I also visited a butterfly farm in Penang called Entopia.
    Definitely worth a visit.

  4. Entopia in Penang actually exports butterfly pupae to major zoos and butterfly parks around the world. I came across this info from their exhibition. Not sure Stratford-upon-Avon Butterfly Farms imports from Entopia though…

    More info on Entopia if you’re interested,
    https://www.malaysia-traveller.com/entopia-penang-butterfly-farm.html