What began as a childhood hobby more than six decades ago has led to what might be Africa's largest butterfly collection. Steve Collins has a collection of 4.2 million butterflies.

South African butterfly expert Mark Williams shows one of his finds. In the case of butterflies that are nearly extinct, the act of killing the insect may surprise outsiders, but lepidopterists ...

A butterfly rests on the nose of assistant butterfly collector Edgar Emojong at the African Butterfly Research Institute (ABRI) in Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Dec. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga) ...

Fall-grown African marigolds not only look stunning in the landscape but provide nectar for butterflies too. By Norman Winter UPDATED: September 11, 2018 at 12:00 AM PDT ...

Leakey offered to house the butterfly collection among a series of museums—an African art museum, a museum of mankind—that he wanted to build on his land on the edge of the Great Rift Valley ...

University of Liverpool. "New sex-determining mechanism in African butterfly discovered." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 9 May 2024. <www.sciencedaily.com / releases / 2024 / 05 / 240509110914.htm>.

Discover Africa's largest butterfly collection, owned by Steve Collins, who has amassed over 4.2 million butterflies. Learn about the importance of preserving these delicate creatures.

Collins has 1.2 million butterflies from across Africa delicately pinned in frames and stored in rows of shelves, with another 3 million in envelopes. “They need to be kept in dark spaces," he said.

A butterfly rests on the nose of assistant butterfly collector Edgar Emojong at the African Butterfly Research Institute (ABRI) in Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Dec. 9, 2024.

Steve Collins, a butterfly collector and the founder of the African Butterfly Research Institute (ABRI), holds a butterfly collection box in Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Dec. 9, 2024.