OUR ETHOS
Why is ordering from The Bug Club one of the best investments you can make to protect & develop the natural world?
All of the specimens we use to handcraft our products are purchased directly from several entomologists who own conservation farms all over the world.
As the insects in our collection are part of a larger Conservation Breeding Programme, they are allowed to live out their full life cycle in good, healthy conditions, closely managed by entomologists who ensure an optimal environment to allow the populations to thrive.
As adults an insect's strongest drive is to reproduce. Most of our butterflies naturally die shortly after this has been achieved. Atlas moths don’t even retain the ability to feed through metamorphosis, dying just one to two weeks after emergence as adults.
Here at The Bug Club, we are fuelled by our passion for nature and wildlife and are committed to doing all we can to protect the environment against habitat destruction and the increasing loss of biodiversity across the globe.
Not only does our collection promote the beauty and diversity of the natural world, we are also actively working to make the world a better place by...
SUPPORTING SUSTAINABLE CAPTIVE BREEDING FARMS
Conservation Breeding and Reintroduction Programmes provide an important resource to conservation work through the management of populations of threatened species and, where appropriate, reintroduction to re-establish populations in the wild. Our suppliers are committed to releasing 10% of each newly bred native species back into the wild to continue the growth of the wild population; this is where your orders help to ensure we are keeping the forest filled with these beautiful creatures.
A single female butterfly can lay between 250 and 500 eggs in her lifetime, so very few female butterflies are required to start captive populations. After starting a population, there is really only a need to return to the wild to find males occasionally; this ensures the captive population has good genetic diversity. In fact, captive breeding and affordable suppliers reduce the risk of illegal collecting from the wild.
We also ensure that all of our rarer butterflies & other insects are imported with the correct CITES paperwork.
OUR MISSION
Reducing our environmental impact is at the forefront of what we do.
DIRECTLY SOURCING FROM LOCAL COMMUNITIES
Breeding farms provide an environmentally sustainable source of income to local communities. Many people in developing countries depend on logging, agriculture and palm oil plantations for their livelihood, but these are also the leading causes of deforestation, carbon emissions, species extinction and climate change. Insect breeding programmes offer a viable sustainable alternative source of income, and promote both conservation and community development.
MEET RAPHA
Rapha owns an insect farm in the Indonesian rainforest.
20% of the native insects Rapha breeds are released back into the wild to help augment threatened populations. His goal is to create healthy, genetically diverse, self-sustaining populations of protected species such as the Wallace's Golden Birdwing butterfly.
OUR PHILOSOPHY
Designing our way to a greener future.
ARE ANY BUGS KILLED FOR FRAMING PURPOSES?
Absolutely not, this would go against the whole ethos of The Bug Club. As mentioned above, butterflies only typically live 1-2 days, with some living up to 4 weeks. Once a butterfly has hatched from its pupae (changed from a caterpillar into a butterfly) its sole purpose is to reproduce. Some species even transform with no way of feeding! The butterfly will find a nice spot to lay its eggs and then its journey is complete.
CARBON OFFSETTING
The Bug Club is constantly reviewing the ways in which we can make things more eco friendly. We are working hard to be a carbon neutral brand, by regularly investing in planting trees to offset our carbon emissions and continuing to operate responsibly. Both ourselves and our suppliers use recycled material through as much of the design & production process as possible. We also package all of our products using 100% recyclable or reusable materials to reduce our environmental impact.
