NAIROBI, Kenya. What began as a childhood fascination with butterflies has blossomed into one of the largest collections of its kind in Africa, housed in a suburb near Kenya’s capital.

Steve Collins, 74, was born and raised in western Kenya, where his passion for butterflies took flight at just five years old. Today, he is the proud owner of a collection that spans over 4.2 million butterflies, representing hundreds of species across the continent.

“My parents encouraged us to look for butterflies after visiting the Congo and were gifted a trapping net by some friends,” Collins recalled. “By the time I was 15 years old, I was already visiting other countries like Nigeria to study more about butterflies.”

Collins’s dedication to his hobby led him to a 20-year career as an agronomist, during which he continued his research on butterflies. In 1997, he established the African Butterfly Research Institute, further cementing his commitment to the study of these delicate creatures.

Now, with limited space and time, Collins is focusing on ensuring the collection’s future by passing it on to the next generation. On his 1.5-acre property, hundreds of indigenous trees and flowering bushes create a small forest, where butterflies flit from flower to flower.

Although private, his collection was open to the public from 1998 to 2003 when it served as an education center. Today, 1.2 million butterflies are pinned in frames and stored on shelves, with another 3 million stored in envelopes. The specimens are kept in dark, controlled environments to preserve their delicate state and protect them from pests.

Collins explained the meticulous care required to preserve the butterflies: “They need to be kept in dark spaces. The form of storage also ensures the dried butterflies are not eaten by other insects, parasites, and predators. We also ensure we apply insecticides once a year to keep them safe.”

Ecologist Julian Bayliss, who has worked with Collins for over 20 years, emphasized the importance of the collection, which contains specimens that are “completely irreplaceable” due to the ongoing destruction of Africa’s natural habitats. Climate change, including droughts and floods, continues to threaten forests and butterfly habitats across the continent. Bayliss suggested that digitizing the collection could help make it accessible to researchers worldwide.

“These physical specimens, you can actually keep going back to them to get new layers of information as you learn more or you get a different technology or you get different questions,” said Scott Miller, an entomologist at the Smithsonian Institution, who met Collins nearly 30 years ago.

Collins is now seeking to sell the collection to an individual or research institution, expressing concern that he will soon be unable to sustain the institute due to high operating costs. In 2009, the African Butterfly Research Institute had an annual budget of $200,000. Collins estimates the collection and its assets are worth an impressive $8 million.

“My most prized butterfly costs $8,000,” Collins shared, “which I keep out of sight, concerned about theft. This has been my hobby for decades, and I can’t put a price on what I have done so far. I’m currently seeking to ensure the species are in safe hands when I’m out of this world.”

As Collins looks toward the future, his dedication to preserving Africa’s butterflies remains unwavering, and he hopes that his life’s work will continue to inspire future generations of researchers and nature lovers.