Ethics

How are the specimens obtained?

All of our insect and arachnid specimens are legally obtained and imported from sustainable sources. Most of our specimens are farm-bred for the industry and isolated from wild populations. They are culled shortly after emerging from the chrysalis (moths, butterflies, and beetles) or after reaching their desired number of molts (arachnids and other insects). Some specimens are collected from the wild as eggs or pupae, or adults are caught using nets.

How is killing wild insects sustainable?

Insect farming and collecting provide a source of income for Indigenous communities in tropical countries and require native habitats to remain intact. Without these income sources, native wildlife is at risk from deforestation and habitat loss to make room for other, more destructive industries or agriculture. Habitat loss is the number one cause of declining insect populations.

Insects are one of the most widespread classes of animals and are nearly impossible to “overhunt.” Unlike mammals, which typically produce relatively few offspring in their lifetime, insects often lay hundreds or even thousands of eggs over a short lifespan. Mammals rely on nurturing and raising a small number of offspring until they can fend for themselves, whereas insects rely on sheer quantity, with no parental care, in the hope that a fraction survive to adulthood.

By collecting eggs or larvae from the wild and raising them in captivity, their survival to adulthood is ensured rather than leaving them vulnerable to predation or parasites. This means most specimens would not have survived to adulthood anyway. A portion of these captive-raised insects are also released back into the wild, boosting populations to higher levels than if there were no human intervention. This therefore can create a net positive for insect populations.

But is it ethical?

It’s no secret that these insects are killed for art. While the practice can be sustainable, it would not be accurate to call it ethical. Sellers who claim to sell “ethically sourced” specimens are almost always misleading. High-quality specimens need to be killed shortly after reaching adulthood to avoid damage from flight or fighting.

Truly ethical specimens would be those that die naturally of old age; however, they typically show extensive wear and damage from their time as adults. While these specimens can be beautiful in their own right, they are extremely rare to find for sale.

Some food for thought

It is up to you to decide whether our products align with your personal ethics. Butterflies and moths are still flies—just much prettier ones. They are just as important as pollinators as houseflies, wasps, and mosquitoes, which are commonly killed without a second thought.