Round Up in the Sky

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Rustlers aren’t much of a problem on Jayne Pride’s ranch in Parkman, south of Guilford in central Maine. A stiff breeze, on the other hand, could pose a real predicament.
Pride recently opened Wild Valley Butterfly Ranch, and her stock in trade is Painted Ladies — the butterflies, not the women of ill repute.
Butterflies are fast replacing doves as the favorite aerial ornament at weddings, parties, and other special events. Pride says she read about butterfly ranching in other states and decided to try it in Maine, even though the state lacks the warm climate of such butterfly-raising centers as Florida and California. “You don’t need a lot of room,” she reasons, “and if it really takes off, I can add a greenhouse here for extra space.”
Pride started with five caterpillars in early 1999, raising them to winged adulthood and breeding them. This spring she had sixty caterpillars and was ordering more from out of state. Besides Painted Ladies, Pride is also raising Monarch butterflies, two species that are both native to Maine. So far as she knows, she is the only butterfly breeder in the state.
This spring she was already fielding calls from brides planning that special wedding moment. (The going price is seven dollars per butterfly, with a discount for volume orders.) The problem, of course, is that once released, the butterflies tend to, well, fly away. “When they’re in the air, they’re gone for good,” Pride says. “There’s no round up at this ranch.”
(Published August 2000)