Costa Rica, known for its lush biodiversity and commitment to sustainability, has found a new treasure to share with the world: butterfly pupae. From the El Mariposario El Bosque Nuevo farm to international markets, these small chrysalises are having a positive impact on rural communities and the environment.
Beyond medical devices, high-quality coffee, bananas, cassava, and even pineapple, Costa Rica’s exportable goods are diverse, but it is butterfly pupae that are generating a significant social and environmental impact.
At the El Mariposario El Bosque Nuevo farm, located in Santa Cecilia de la Cruz, Guanacaste, more than 100 species of tropical butterflies are cultivated. Their pupae are exported to destinations as diverse as the United States, the United Arab Emirates, New Zealand, Canada, and the United Kingdom. With weekly exports ranging from 5,000 to 20,000 pupae, the morpho species, known for its intense metallic blue color, accounts for 50% of production.
“This project is very interesting because we ventured into butterfly production with 80 families in 17 butterfly farms on the estate,” explains Don Ernesto, founder of El Bosque Nuevo. “It has been a huge help to rural communities with little access to work, improving the quality of life of each family, many of which are headed by women.”
The social impact is undeniable. More than 80% of the families involved are headed by women, who find in this activity a means of supporting their families, promoting education, and stability in their communities.
In addition to its social impact, El Bosque Nuevo is a conservation and sustainable production initiative. 100% of the profits are used to purchase land for reforestation of protected areas and sustainable forest management, which serves as a refuge for species such as pumas, sloths, and frogs.
In 2024, Costa Rica had seven companies exporting butterfly eggs and pupae, including El Bosque Nuevo, with a total of $4 million in exports. This product falls under the livestock and fishing sector category, representing 2% of the country’s total exports.
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Imagine that children, without leaving their country, can see with their own eyes such a unique and fascinating species as a morpho butterfly conceived in Costa Rica, in the most admirable way, in which every Tico has to collect the pots with the eggs every day and take them to the laboratory, a safe place so that they are not eaten by insects. Then, after they hatch there, they are taken to their respective areas with their respective food, where they grow. When they are ready to pupate and form chrysalises, they are taken back to the laboratory to pupate, and then they are exported to different countries.
The story of butterfly pupae is an example of how Costa Rica is innovating in its exports, generating a positive impact on rural communities and promoting environmental conservation. A small but significant step toward a more sustainable future.
This is where the well-known phrase, “With something small, you can achieve great things,” takes on greater meaning.
There is probably no other country that exports as many goods as Costa Rica.
Butterfly pupae, also called chrysalises, are not only exported from El Bosque Nuevo, Guanacaste. There is a 4,000-hectare plot of land in San Ramón de Palmares, which is an hour and a half from San José (by car).
Many experts in the field have developed research programs at the University of Costa Rica, where they work on everything related to insects, mainly butterflies and their chrysalises.
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Costa Rica, with its enormous biodiversity and different climate zones, is truly a paradise for chrysalises and their breeders, who run a business for the whole world in a responsible manner and with respect for the environment around us.
Called Heliconius Doris de Sobando, a name reflected on butterfly eggs, an entire industry in Costa Rica depends on them.
It is worth noting that, in butterflies, the pupa is called a chrysalis. It is a stage where the chrysalises hang from a kind of silk produced by the caterpillar. It can last a couple of weeks and may vary depending on the species.
Various people give workshops to train future chrysalis producers.
The process in detail
First, there is a small egg. After 10 days, a larva is born, which is fed for two months, depending on the climate where they are, to become a chrysalis, which is when it is exported all over the world, mainly to Europe.
This is a business that by 2021 was generating more than $2.7 billion annually in Costa Rica, where a single shipment can be worth $15,000, and where the nymphs are protected from shocks and temperature fluctuations.
For chrysalis breeding to be successful…
Each species of chrysalis requires suitable living conditions, very special growth, and appropriate plants planted for larvae.
This requires hard work in the garden to ensure that the insects have food throughout the year.
It is worth noting that some species breed in high altitude regions or humid areas, or even in dry regions.
An important fact is that it is the chrysalises that are exported, not the adult butterflies.
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