| CAMEOS - The Butterfly Effect; Naples Illustrated
By Andrea M. Galabinski
When you arrive at the colorful home he shares with wife Jackie, the first thing that strikes you are his artistic creations—huge, Lucite-framed art made of real, exotic butterflies, focusing on the motion of their flight. He assures that none died for his creative efforts. “I never use any endangered. They were all raised on special farms for collectors, happy in their short life span,” he says. “They only live three to five days, but during that time they can lay up to 1,000 eggs.” The butterfly farms he deals with are part of programs to protect the rainforest. “Only five percent of butterflies there make it to adulthood in the wild. These farms are important; 40 percent are released back into the wild.” His artwork is so striking, an event planner for the Naples Winter Wine Festival commissioned him to do enormous butterfly centerpieces for a prominent patron in Port Royal this year. His greatest passion is his butterfly garden. A Master Gardener, he spends hours there daily. “It’s not your typical garden. We have more than 500 plants, 52 native to Florida. We don’t ‘lollipop’ things, we let them roam,” Malloy says. “The two main things to know about butterfly gardening are host plants where butterflies lay their eggs, and nectar plants [for food].” Malloy is the official butterfly expert for the Naples Zoo. He also lectures as part of the Master Gardener workshop series for the University of Florida. “I give a lot of butterfly talks, and people would tell me they were confused with the information that was out there,” he says. So he wrote a book titled Butterfly Gardening Made Easy for Southwest Florida: A Guide to Attracting and Keeping Butterflies in Your Garden. "I do wedding invitations made with butterflies," he says. "I did our own wedding invitation, featuring the brilliant red Sangaris from the Republic of Central Aftrica and the white and orange spotted Peris Calypso from South America." Malloy loves that "butterfly season is year-round. On any given day," he says, "we'll have 30 to 40 in our backyard to enjoy." For more Cameos, check out the July/August 2007 issue of Naples Illustrated. E-Mail: mikemalloy@naplesbutterfly.com |
Mike Malloy lives for—and with—butterflies. They are the focus of his spectacular butterfly garden, a central part of his home, the subject of his new book, and the focus of his unique artwork. He also lectures throughout the area on the topics of butterflies and gardening.