Who is behind THBF’s Flutter Focus?
Ryan Malone is the owner and manager of The Hatchery Butterfly Farm located in Wichita, KS. His is focus is on breeding and rearing butterflies native to Kansas and surrounding regions. Primarily, Ryan works behind-the-scenes as a wholesale supplier of entomological livestock for several educational exhibits including Next to Nature Farm in Leavenworth County, Kansas and the Cox Butterfly House at Botanica, The Wichita Gardens. When not breeding butterflies for exhibits, Ryan focuses on education and conservation. He gives talks at schools and produces butterfly life cycle kits, native larval host plants, framed butterfly specimens, and butterfly releases for educational and/or sentimental events. On weekends from late spring to early fall, Ryan and his butterflies can be seen at various markets and special events including the Old Town Farm & Art Market, Orie’s Garlic Festival, and Firefly Farm’s Tomato Fest.
Ryan’s love for butterflies stems from his love for plants. Prior to his current profession, Ryan worked as the Head Caretaker for Aly’s Blooms Flower Farm and as a full-time gardener for Botanica, The Wichita Gardens. As the Head Caretaker at Aly’s Blooms, Ryan experimented with ways in which very hungry caterpillars — legally classified as agricultural pests — could co-exist with the commercial flower farming industry by reducing pesticide usage. At the Wichita botanical gardens, which attracts an estimated 220,000 guests annually, he worked to maintain the Cox Butterfly House and the Milburn Aquatic Collection, the largest collection of hardy & tropical water lilies in the state of Kansas.
Over the years Ryan has had the joy and privilege to help others heal by reconnecting them to a sense of play, exploration, and celebration. He been known to give enthusiastic caterpillar tours through the local botanical garden to middle and high school classrooms. When not specifically breeding butterflies, Ryan is teaching about pollinators, establishing native habitats, and promoting ecologically friendly gardening practices. He hopes that by providing accessible and educational experiences for people of all ages that he may garner support for our struggling pollinators.
Should you have any questions/inquiries, you can contact Ryan via email or follow him on social media at https://linktr.ee/thehatcherybutterflyfarm.
Why Butterflies?
Around the globe butterflies are considered to be symbols of rebirth, joy, hope, endurance, and lightness of being. They represent the courage to embrace transformation for a better life. People endearingly call them “flying flowers,” enriching our lives with their fleeting beauty.
However, butterflies shouldn’t just be limited to an ethereal representation of beauty—they can be quite bad*ss! Some larvae sequester and store poisonous compounds from plants (Monarchs and Pipevine Swallowtails), some are carnivorous (Harvester butterfly), and some drug ants, turning them into personal bodyguards (Japanese Oakblue Butterfly).
Butterflies serve a crucial role in the ecological environment as pollinators for plants. As butterflies move from flower to flower, their bodies are dusted with pollen. Plants and their pollinators have evolved side-by-side, often requiring the unique anatomical structures of specific pollinators to set fruit. Researchers at North Carolina State University studied the pollination process of flame azaleas and discovered that "due to the flower’s unique reproductive structure, butterflies – and specifically, their wings – are the key to pollination."
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