The Penang Butterfly Farm, opened to the public in 1986, was one of the first tropical butterfly farms in the world. It is located on a 0.8 hectare site near the foot of the Teluk Bahang hills, between the Taman Rimba Teluk Bahang and the Teluk Bahang village. The owner and founder is David Goh, who was inspired to start the farm by another butterfly farm owner, Clive Farrell of Stratford-upon-Avon in England.
The farm was intended to be more than just a tourist attraction. It introduced and created an interest in entomology - the study of insects - to the Malaysian public. For the first time, Malaysians from children to adults could experience the pleasure of watching over a thousand butterflies from 120 different species fluttering in an enclosure. They include the famous Rajah Brooke (Trogonoptera brookiana), the beautiful black butterfly with florescent green patches called birdwing. This butterfly comes from Borneo and West Malaysia, and was named after James, the Rajah of Sarawak, by naturalist Alfred Wallace, the founder of the Sarawak Museum, in 1855. Other butterflies found here include the endangered Yellow Bird wing (Troides helena).
Updates
26 February, 2015: The Penang Butterfly Farm advises that the farm will be closed to the public for a major development beginning 7 March, 2015, and is planned to reopen in early 2016.
Penang Butterfly Farm on Google Maps Street View
Butterflies at the farm (2 December 2007).
Although to the general public, the butterfly farm is just another of Penang's many tourist attractions, the farm itself has gained an international reputation within the industry as a butterfly breeding centre. Rather than depleting the butterfly population in the wild, the farm has been active in breeding butterflies in captivity. This helps to increase the number of butterflies which are endangered species. It also increases awareness of conservation issues pertaining to the rain forest and butterfly habitats.
Contact
Penang Butterfly Farm
830, Jalan Teluk Bahang
11050 Penang
Tel: 60-4-8851253
Email: info@butterfly-insect.com
Website: https://www.butterfly-insect.com
Manmade waterfall at the Penang Butterfly Farm (15 July 2006)
Opening Hours
The Penang Butterfly Farm informs that it is closed for a major development from 7 March, 2015, and is planned to reopen in early 2016.
Daily: 9:00am-6.00pm (last entry 5:00pm)
(Including weekends and public holidays)
Open half day on Chinese New Year Eve
Admission (as of 1 Jan 2011):
Adults: RM27
Children: RM15
Children under 3 years old: Free
Senior Guests (58 years old and above): RM13.50
1/3 Discount for MYKAD holders
Video / Digital Video Camera: Free of Charge
Discounts available for school bookings and large group. Contact the Penang Butterfly Farm for details.
What to see and do
Enjoy the sight of butterflies fluttering in the enclosure as they consume nectar from flowers and fruits. In addition to the butterflies, the farm also has a menagerie of other animals and insects. Admire the different types of beetles, stick insects, and other fascinating creatures. There is also an enclosure with huge scorpions. There is also a collect of tropical snakes and ducks. Gardening enthusiasts will also be delighted to see a big range of tropical plants growing healthily and many in full bloom.
After you are done with the butterfly enclosure, visit the Insect Library with a vast collect of insects, from beetles to butterflies and more. The owner of the farm is also an avid ethnologist, and has a collection of tribal items on display including masks, effigies, weapons and musical instruments. Some of these items are on sale to interested buyers. The last part of the farm is the gift shop where visitors can purchase souvenirs, t-shirts, trinkets, even books, to remember their trip to the Penang Butterfly Farm.
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Getting there
Penang Butterfly Farm is located about 2.2 km or 15 minutes from the Teluk Bahang roundabout. From George Town, take the northern beach road through Batu Ferringhi until you reach the Teluk Bahang roundabout. Make a 9 o'clock turn to the left. You will reach the Teluk Bahang Forest Park (Taman Rimba Teluk Bahang) after passing the Penang Butterfly Farm on the left side of the road. If you are taking public transport, Rapid Penang Bus 101 goes to Teluk Bahang Village. From there you need to change to Bus 501 that heads towards Balik Pulau. Take note that bus services is "sporadic".
Location of the Penang Butterfly Farm on the map
Private Guided Tours of Penang
If you are seeking private guided tours of Penang, message Penang Tour Guides at penangtourguides@gmail.com and enquire with them.
Buy, rent or sell properties in Penang
Do you have a property for sale or to rent out? Are you looking to buy or rent a property? Get in touch with me. WhatsApp me (Timothy Tye) at 012 429 9844, and I will assign one of my property agents to serve you. I will choose the agent for you, according to your property needs. So when you message me, provide me some details of what you need, whether to sell, to buy, to rent or to rent out, and what type of property, is it condo, apartment, house, shop, office or land.
Adakah anda mempunyai hartanah untuk dijual atau disewakan? Adakah anda ingin membeli atau menyewa hartanah? Hubungi saya. WhatsApp saya (Timothy Tye) di 012 429 9844, dan saya akan menugaskan salah seorang ejen hartanah saya untuk berkhidmat kepada anda. Saya akan pilih ejen untuk anda, mengikut keperluan hartanah anda. Oleh itu, apabila anda menghantar mesej kepada saya, berikan saya beberapa butiran tentang apa yang anda perlukan, sama ada untuk menjual, untuk membeli, untuk disewakan atau untuk disewakan, dan jenis hartanah apakah itu kondo, pangsapuri, rumah, kedai, pejabat atau tanah.
Let me take you to explore and discover Penang through my series of walking tours on YouTube. You may use these videos as your virtual tour guide. At the beginning of each video, I provide the starting point coordinates which you may key into your GPS, Google Maps or Waze, to be navigated to where I start the walk, and use the video as your virtual tour guide.
Disclaimer
Please use the information on this page as guidance only. The author endeavours to update the information on this page from time to time, but regrets any inaccuracies if there be any.
Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.