DAR ES SALAAM, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian forestry authorities said on Sunday plans were underway to construct butterfly houses across the east African nation's cities which will serve as markets for butterfly farmers.
Dos Santos Silayo, chief executive officer for Tanzania Forestry Service Agency, said the butterfly houses will also attract butterfly lovers from foreign countries to come to Tanzania and visit the houses.
"The houses will act as a conduit for sustaining butterfly farming, which has been recognized as one of the crucial means for conserving and protecting forests," said Silayo.
Speaking on a visit to Amani Nature Reserve, the first among 18 nature reserves in Tanzania, Silayo said the construction of the butterfly houses will start in the country's administrative capital of Dodoma.
"Farmers will be able to sell their butterfly pupas to the butterfly houses apart from establishing their own net houses where they could release their butterflies and allow visitors to view them at a price," he said.
There are about 1,583 species of butterflies in Tanzania, and 134 of them are endemic.
