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When Des Fox was a boy, his aunt returned from a visit to London, with a present that was far from ordinary for a six-year-old. She brought him a tropical butterfly mounted in a small glass case. This beautiful creature sparked a fascination that grew, over the years, into a hobby, then a passion, with the result that Des is now the owner of one of the most unusual attractions in Ireland.

The Straffan Butterfly Farm in County Kildare opened in 1986. It could easily be missed by the tourist in a hurry, for it hides away quietly along a narrow side road that runs between Clane and the K-Club golf course, venue for the 2006 Ryder Cup Competition. Even the entrance stands back from the road. Only the miniature Japanese garden that precedes it gives a hint of the unexpected wonderland that lies within.

On entering, the visitor is confronted by a bewildering array of photographs and mounted specimens of butterflies, moths and beetles, which adorn the walls. Some of these are in large display cases. Others are mounted singly or in twos or threes, and are for sale to visitors. In addition, there are larger boxes and enclosures containing live creatures that together comprise a small zoo.

There are locusts, bird-eating spiders and Mexican red knee tarantulas as well as scorpions, stick insects and millipedes, many of them several centimetres in length. Vertebrates are represented by various breeds of snake, including Roger, a Californian King Snake, a Leopard Gecko called Larry and a magnificent Green Iguana that goes by the name of Iggy.

The real marvels, however, are to be found in the outhouse, which stands in the garden to the rear of the main building. The first thing to strike the visitor here is the heat, followed almost immediately by the humidity, which fogs camera lenses and spectacles in seconds. The tropical atmosphere is quite overwhelming, but rapidly gives way to gasps of wonder.

Delicate floating films settle gently onto head and shoulders like falling leaves, and transform magically into the denizens of this minuscule jungle. Butterflies and moths of all sizes, some as large as a hand, float over the tiny fish pond. Some rest on palm fronds or lily pads. Others sip nectar from flowers or the juices of fermenting fruits left on dishes placed at intervals around the room.

Almost without thinking, one speaks in a whisper, for the silence is palpable. Even the largest butterflies, which one expects to make some noise with their wingbeats, fly without a sound.

Even without exertion, one perspires freely, and it is not long before sweaters and jackets are being peeled off. Yet such is the wonder of the butterfly house that the visitor has no desire to leave, but continues to tiptoe along the pathway, careful not to stand on or disturb one of the many creatures that rest on the ground every few metres.

After the initial feelings of amazement have subsided, one begins to search more closely. Some butterflies shelter beneath leaves, or retreat to half-submerged logs in the pool. Others use camouflage to blend into the stems of plants. Some boldly display their colours while yet others hide theirs behind folded wings. Occasionally, a slight movement of a leaf or a passing cloud changes the angle of light and a transient colour that one feels should not exist in Nature flashes suddenly across a wingtip.

Despite the small space in the butterfly house, there is so much of the magical to discover that one could very easily spend the better part of an hour here. It is probably only the almost oppressive heat that eventually persuades one to leave.

Back in the display centre there is much to see. Some of the larger glass cases contain as many as sixty or seventy lepidoptera, beetles or other insects or arachnids from the jungles of Brazil or Papua New Guinea. A high proportion of the displays are aimed at the many children who visit from schools in the area, though it would be a poor adult who would not also feel the same sense of wonder. No matter how often one reads of the life cycle of butterflies and moths and of the metamorphosis of caterpillar to pupa to exquisite winged creature, the story never ceases to amaze.

A small number of butterflies and moths are bred at Straffan, though as they only live for seven to nine days, these are never sufficient to maintain the populations in the butterfly house. The majority are imported as pupae from places as far flung as Malaysia and South America, where the governments have introduced breeding programs in an effort to conserve endangered species.

At the end of their short lifespan, those butterflies and moths that are in good condition are mounted in cases and offered for sale to visitors. In this way, the beauty that first enthralled the young Des Fox may be passed on to young people of another generation. Perhaps one or two of them may be inspired to make their own contribution toward conserving the wonders of the natural world.

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