NAIROBI, Kenya — A childhood interest that began over sixty years ago has blossomed into what may be the largest butterfly collection in Africa, located in a suburb of the Kenyan capital.
Steve Collins, now 74 years old, was raised in western Kenya. His fascination with butterflies ignited at the tender age of five, and since then, he has amassed a stunning collection exceeding 4.2 million specimens from countless species.
Collins recalls that his parents inspired his pursuit after returning from a trip to the Congo, where they were gifted a butterfly net by friends. “By the time I was 15 years old, I was already visiting other countries like Nigeria to study more about butterflies,” he shared.
After a two-decade tenure as an agronomist, Collins devoted his leisure time to research, ultimately founding the African Butterfly Research Institute in 1997.
Faced with the challenge of limited space and the passage of time, he is eager to pass on his legacy to the upcoming generation. His 1.5 acres (0.6 hectares) of land feature vibrant indigenous trees and flowering plants, creating a rich ecosystem where butterflies flit from blossom to blossom, occasionally resting on Collins’ hand.
While his collection began as a public educational endeavor from 1998 to 2003, it has since become private. Currently, Collins has 1.2 million meticulously pinned butterflies from across the continent, housed on shelf rows, in addition to another 3 million preserved in envelopes.
“They need to be kept in dark spaces,” he explains about the storage requirements. “This method of storage helps protect the dried butterflies from insects, parasites, and predators, and we apply insecticides annually for their preservation.”
Julian Bayliss, an ecologist with a focus on Africa and a visiting professor at Oxford Brookes University, has contributed to Collins’ collection for over twenty years. He noted, “A significant part of that collection is irreplaceable due to the ongoing destruction of Africa’s natural habitats.”
With the continent increasingly vulnerable to the effects of climate change—experiencing severe droughts and floods that threaten diverse ecosystems—Bayliss recommended that the collection be digitized to ensure global accessibility.
He expressed that whoever takes over the collection “needs to be an institution that is well-founded, well-funded, and secure.”
Scott Miller, an entomologist affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution, has known Collins for nearly three decades. He emphasized that collections such as Collins’ hold essential records of environmental shifts spanning over sixty years.
“These physical specimens allow us to revisit and extract new insights as scientific knowledge advances or when new technologies emerge,” Miller noted.
Collins is becoming increasingly concerned that he may soon be unable to maintain his research efforts. His most treasured specimen, valued at $8,000, is well-guarded from potential theft, and he hopes to find a buyer for his collection—whether that be an individual or a research institution.
Operating his institute incurs substantial expenses; in 2009, the Lepidopterists’ Society of Africa estimated these costs to be around $200,000 annually. Collins currently values his specimens and other assets at a staggering $8 million.
“This has been my hobby for decades, and I can’t assign a monetary value to my work. My foremost goal is to ensure the safety of these species when I can no longer be here,” he expressed.