Tutubi, whose name came the Filipino word for dragonfly, is actually fond of butterflies, the most beautiful and colorful members of the insect world. Though still not equipped for it for it needs expensive telephoto lenses, he intends to pursue butterfly watching as a hobby besides travel and photography someday.

The Philippines is endowed with so many species of the six-legged creatures with colorful wings and a few days lifespan, some species probably yet to be discovered and documented.

The butterfly garden list below "spidered" from their official websites, and needs to be updated from time to time. These butterfly farms, besides being educational destinations for field trips, also double as suppliers of live butterfly release during weddings, and other events.

On butterfly releases, probably due to ignorance of most people, the released butterflies have very slim chance of surviving and multiplying in the area where they're released due to the absence of the host plants to lay their eggs on and their caterpillars need to survive. This is the way nature designed it, a butterfly species needs a specific partner plant (called host plant) to survive in this world, take away the host plant, you kill the butterfly (or drive them to extinction). That's why the presence of butterflies in an area is a sign of good ecological health of the place besides acting as an indicator of how clean the air is for they're also very sensitive to changes in the environment.

the common black and white butterfly called paper kite with scientific name Idea Leuconoe


Metro Manila Butterfly Farms:

The Orchidarium and Butterfly Pavilion
Orosa Street and Finance Drive
Rizal Park (Luneta), Manila, Philippines
Tel. No.: +63.2.527.6376; +63.2.527.6378
Admission: PhP100
How to get there: it's walking distance from LRT UN Avenue station. Jeepneys with Taft or Mabini signboards will pass by the place. It's beside the Chinese Garden in Luneta.

World of Butterflies Marikina
Champagnat corner Ordonez Sts
Brgy. Marikina Heights, Marikina City
Telephone No.: +63.2.941.3747
PhP20 for students, senior citizens and Marikina residents
PhP40 for tourists and visitors

Butterfly Garden
Rainforest Park, Pasig City
Metro Manila, Philippines

Butterfly Farm at Bio Research
Sucat Road, Paranaque

Butterfly Farms Outside Metro Manila:

Butterfly Garden, PACEM Ecology Park
Center for Peace and Ecology
Assumption Antipolo
Sumulong Highway, Antipolo City
Website: http://www.pacem-ecopark.org/
Tel. No.: +63.2.696.3274; +63.2.697.2354
Open From Monday to Friday, from 8.00am to 3.30pm
On Saturdays from 8.30am to 12.00noon
Remarks: includes a mini zoo, herbal garden, and museum of seashells

Butterfly Farm at Paradise Ranch Clark
Sacobia Valley,
Clarkfield, Pampanga
Tel. No.: +63.45.625.6696; +63.45.625.6698; +63.45.-889.8245 (up to 48)

Camp John Hay Butterfly Sanctuary
Little Mermaid Garden
Ordonio Drive, Baguio City, Philippines
Website: http://www.campjohnhay.com

Pulilan Butterfly Haven
Pulilan, Bulacan, Philippines
Website: http://www.pulilanbutterfly.ph
http://www.webmaxphil.com/pbh/index.htm

Dioko Resort and Butterfly Farm
Brgy. San Joaquin, San Pablo City, Laguna, Philippines
Email: diokoresbfly@hotmail.com
Tel. No.: +63.49.800.4542; +63.49.800.4543

The Butterfly Farm
Island Cove Resort and Leisure Park
Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite, Philippines
Website: http://www.islandcovephil.com

Butterfly Kingdom
inside the Paradise Ranch, Clark, Pampanga

Butterfly Garden at Camp John Hay
P40 entrance fee

Butterfly Garden, Subic Bay
near Zoobic Safari
Entrance Fee: P50

Flora Farm(Butterfly House)
Ilanin Forest, Subic Bay Freeport Zone, sell live butterflies
Cel number: 09088728656
09087308269
09062592318
email: beth_heitzmann@yahoo.com

Butterfly Garden
Paradizoo, Tagaytay City

LAG Butterfly Farm and Garden
Elm St, Greenwoods Subd, Batangas City, Batangas
Tel. No.: +63.43.722.2771
Website: http://www.philippinebutterfly.com

LAG Butterfly Farm and Garden
Gasan, Marinduque
Website: http://www.philippinebutterfly.com

Butterflies of Marinduque
Pangi, Gasan, Marinduque, Philippines
Website: http://butterfliesofmarinduque.com

Palawan Butterfly Garden
Puerto Princessa City, Palawan, Philippines

Boracay Butterfly Garden
Bolabog Beach, Boracay Island
5608 Malay, Aklan, Philippines
Tel: +63.36.288.6701
Mobile: +63.918.329.4233; +63.917.464.6486
Email: boracaybutterfly@yahoo.com
Website: http://bbg.boracayinfo.net

Butterfly Farm
Sagbayan, Bohol

Simply Butterflies Conservation Center
Poblacion, Bilar, Bohol, Philippines
Tel. No.: +63.38.535.9400 (globelines)
Mobile Number: 0928-5499-744
Website: http://simplybutterfliesproject.com
Remarks: This is a highly recommended visit for true blue butterfly enthusiasts being an open garden i.e. without the enclosures of most butterfly farms thereby attracting even rare, high-flying butterfly species.

Exotic Butterfly Philippines
Taculing, Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, Philippines
Website: http://www.exotic-butterfly.buildtolearn.net/

Bandilaan Butterfly Farm
Siquijor, Negros Oriental, Philippines
Mount Bandilaan National Park
Remark: under Julian Jumalon Foundation

WHS Butterfly Farm
Barangay Pangi, 4 kilometers north of the town of Gasan, Marinduque, Philippines
Website: http://www.marinduque-butterfly.com

Island Butterflies Farm
Cawit, Boac, Marinduque, Philippines
Email: island_butterflies@yahoo.com
Website: http://www.freewebs.com/island_butterflies/

Grand Villa Resort and Butterfly Farm
Purok 2 Brgy. Tranca, Bay, Laguna, Philippines
Directions: It is that road from the high way leading to Sto. Tomas, Batangas, after the rail road

Paru Parong Bukid Conservation Center
Brgy. Lukay, Babatngon, Leyte
owned by Doc Gil Asoy

Mindanao Butterfly Farms:

Butterfly House and Farm
Davao RiverFront Corporate City
Diversion Road, Ma-a, Davao City

Butterfly Far
Holcim Philippines
Lugait, Misamis Oriental

Butterfly Sanctuary
Malagos Garden Resort
Malagos, Baguio District, Calinan, Davao City, Philippines
Website: http://www.malagos.com

Hardin Maria Clara Lobregat
Pasonanca Park, Zamboanga City

Jumalon Butterfly Sanctuary
Cebu. An open garden sanctuary by Julian Jumalon, a butterfly expert (lepidopterist)

Unconfirmed: Hacienda Escudero, Tagaytay, Subic,

UPDATED: April 2011

Sources:
official websites, Kay Susan Tayo and postings from paro-parozzi yahoogroups (join this yahoogroups if you're also interested in watching butterflies in their natural habitat, name came from paru-paro, the Filipino word for butterflies (蝴蝶 in Chinese, 蝶 in Japanese , 나비 in Korean, papillon in French, Schmetterling in German, farfalla in Italian and mariposa in Spanish)

COMING SOON:

Tutubi Butterfly Garden
...have a feeling butterflies and dragonflies don't go well together :P
plus more butterfly pictures and trivia on later posts

Labels: Butterflies, Butterfly Garden, Butterfly Watching

Tutubi's memories of Iba, Zambales include his visits to the pink sand beach-fringed Potipot Island in Candelaria where he just passed by the capital town with it's church (St. Augustine), old houses and large public square. This time, however, Tutubi found himself adrift for a day in Iba and Palauig towns where he visited a black sand beach with few people frolicking early in the morning yet too late for the "Golden Hour" that landscape photographers seek.

Zambales has around 100 kilometers of coastline facing the South China Sea where you can also see (and buy) beach front property for sale plucked by foreigners looking for a nice, retirement place.

the approach to the beach after the tricycle ride from Palauig.


a family frolicking in the early morning waves on the beach's fine black sand
picture of butterfly on a mango tree. Butterflies are cousins of Tutubi :P
here's a rare picture of Tutubi, a self-portrait

The trip was just a short one so Tutubi didn't have the time to explore more of Iba and Palauig since his main purpose was to visit a relative and check out a piece of land in Bangkal, Botolan he wants to acquire someday.

Zambales remains off the radar of most tourists but it holds much promise. Only Subic Bay seems to be promoted and developed for mainstrean tourism which is good for backpackers looking for secluded places away from the crowds.

---

Notes and Related Posts:

Other Zambales "places to see" include the white sand beaches of San Antonio (Anawangin and Pundaquit), Cabangan (where Mango Camp Adventure and Leisure Farm is) and Subic where White Rock, The Lighouse Marina Resort and others are located in addition to Ocean Adventure and Zoobic Safari. Other natural attractions are Balon Falls, Sto. Nino and Sagrada Familia Caves, and Baloc-baloc Springs. Historical marker of the birthplace of Ramon Magsaysay and ancestral house in Castillejos.

Similar to Corregidor Island guarding the mouth of Manila Bay, Grande Island acted as sentry to the entrance of Subic Bay with bunkers and batteries for defense.

San Salvador Island, off Masinloc town, is a white sand beach island similar to Potipot Island in Candelaria.

Capones Island and Lighthouse Pundaquit, San Antonio,
Ocean Adventure, Subic Bay

How to go to Zambales, the commute way:

At Victory Liner bus terminal on Rizal Avenue (Avenida), Caloocan (near Monumento LRT station), buses bound for Iba can take you there and will pass by Double Happiness for a stop-over, Olongapo, Subic, Castillejos, San Marcelino, San Antonio, San Narciso, San Felipe, Cabangan, Botolan, Iba, Palauig, Masinloc, Candelaria, and Sta Cruz (which is the northernmost town adjacent to Pangasinan). Bus fare from Manila (Caloocan) to Iba, Zambales is P371.00 (as of posting time) while commuting time is around 5 hours, 3 hours to Olongapo City from Manila.

If you're looking for directions to Potipot Island, board a bus to Sta. Cruz, Zambales and ask the driver to drop you off at Dawal Resort in Candelaria where you can hire boats for the 15 minute ride to Potipot Island.

"Zambales, Iba Ka Talaga" means "Zambales, you're really different!" in Pilipino.


Tags: Zambales Travel, 菲律賓, 菲律宾, 필리핀, フィリピン, Filippine, Philippinen, Filipinas, Filippijnen, Paradise Philippines

Labels: Beaches, Butterflies, Zambales

Was able to visit Marikina World of Butterflies some time ago with J, a Marikina denizen, as guide.

Butterflies, a cousin of Tutubi (dragonfly) in the insect world represent the most beautiful members of the Insect kingdom. (Dragonflies are the most handsome, hands down, this is Tutubi's blog, remember?)

Some pictures:


picture chrysalis hanging on a girdle (resting stage of moths is called cocoon, chrysalis for butterflies)
photo of a larva (caterpillar) on a host plant
the giant Mariposa (a moth, Scientific Name: Atticus Atlas)


No pictures of fluttering butterflies since they're mostly flying in the morning, not in the afternoon and evening, like moths do.

Will post butterfly pictures in an upcoming series on butterfly watching! :P

Information:

Marikina World of Butterflies
Mondays to Sundays 8am to 5pm
Champagnat corner Ordonez Sts
Brgy. Marikina Heights, Marikina City
Telephone No.: 9413747

P20 for students, senior citizens and Marikina residents
P40 for tourists and visitors

How to go to Marikina World of Butterflies:

Commute: Board a Marikina-bound FX on Aurora Blvd in Cubao, Quezon City, drop off at Meralco then hire a tricycle.



Directions to Marikina World of Butterflies

UPDATE: April 2011: this facility was hit by typhoon Ondoy where most of the butterflies died. probably not in good condition up to this time

Labels: Butterflies, Butterfly Garden, Marikina, Metro Manila, National Capital Region