What began as a childhood hobby more than six decades ago has led to what might be Africa’s largest butterfly collection in a suburb of Kenya’s capital.
Steve Collins, 74, was born and raised in western Kenya. By the age of 5, he was fascinated by butterflies and started building a collection that has grown to more than 4.2 million, representing hundreds of species.
“My parents encouraged us to look for butterflies after visiting the Congo and were gifted a trapping net by some friends,” Collins said. “By the time I was 15 years old, I was already visiting other countries like Nigeria to study more about butterflies.”
During his 20-year career as an agronomist, Collins dedicated his free time to research. He established the African Butterfly Research Institute in 1997.
Now, running out of space and time, he hopes to hand it over to the next generation.
On his 1.5 acres of land, hundreds of indigenous trees and flowering bushes form a well-knit forest. Hundreds of butterflies dance from one flower to another, at times landing on Collins’ hand.
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