Page 6 - MidWeek West - Jan 5, 2022

6 JANUARY 5, 2022
‘Ewa Beach-based Business Paradise Monarchs Raises Butterflies, Awareness
FROM PAGE 1
was to go back to the Four Seasons and do events, but people really love and ap- preciate this, so now I get to do it full time.
quired a 1-acre prop- erty in Mākaha that he envisions as the home to many more caterpil- lars in the future.
from egg stages and in a sanitized enclosure, and all of the milkweed is treated. We try to give them the best chance for survival.”
and bring awareness to people about monarch but- terflies and that people get a chance to experience it because, I mean, how often do you get to experience a butterfly transformation?”
iment and I thought, ‘Oh, it’s kind of similar. Let me give it a try. Why not?’”
After realizing how spe- cial it is to not only promote butterfly conservation, but to watch the creatures metamorphose before one’s eyes, Fang decided to share the experience with his friends. They began post- ing on social media and the rest was history.
“I originally created a box for my friends to ex- perience this because, yes, you can see caterpillars and butterflies in nature, but ... my favorite part is watching it emerge from the chrysalis — and you never get to see that in na- ture,” he adds.
“It’s a long project and, right now, it’s in the design phase, but there’s more to come!” he teases.
Paradise Mon- archs accepts or- ders via its web- site or by stopping by its booth at myriad farmers markets across the island. There, Fang is more than happy to share his knowledge and why this mission has become so close to his heart.
To that end, all chrysalis boxes that are not sold go to children’s hospitals, like Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women & Children, or nonprofits, such as Make- A-Wish Hawai‘i.
“Very organically, one thing led to another and I started selling it,” he says. “At the time, I was furloughed and collect- ing unemployment and I thought, ‘If people want to buy it, sure! It may be a good chance to make some pocket change.’ So, I started selling them though Instagram. My intention
At a single time, Fang is taking care of 100-300 butterflies in all different stages. The operation be- gan out of his backyard — one that he had to trans- form into a milkweed-cen- tric garden to keep the insects happy and healthy — however, Fang shares that his family recently ac-
As far as raising the countless arthropods go, Fang mentions that — from start to finish — the process is exe- cuted in a safe and effi- cient way.
“I’ m looking for more partner nonprofit organiza- tions currently,” he says. “I love that aspect of being able to help the communi- ty and put some smiles on people’s faces.”
“We don’t take
just a wild caterpillar
that’s out on a tree
because there’s a lot
of diseases in nature,”
Fang explains. “We
don’t just pick up a cater- is super low. So, we raise part is giving back to the pillar because the surviv- all of our butterflies really community,” he says. “I al rate of that caterpillar responsibly. We raise them love to be able to educate
For more information, visit paradisemonarchs. com or find the biz on In- stagram (@paradisemon- archs).
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Paradise Monarch, located in ‘Ewa Beach, sells chrysalis boxes (above) so people can (inset) — while aiding in conservation efforts — from the comfort of their homes.
experience a butterfly’s transformation
PHOTOS COURTESY HENRY FANG
KAHEKA (InsideDonQuijote) PH: 943-1183, 943-8720 HOURS: 8:30AM-9PM
WAIPAHU (InsideDonQuijote) PH: 671-2224, 484-4875 HOURS: 9PM-7PM