"A wish upon a butterfly is a wish of your combined souls starting a new journey"

Welcome to South African Butterflies

Imagine your wedding photos filled with beautiful butterflies surrounding the bride and groom. Or, have each guest participate by releasing a single butterfly. Either type of butterfly release will ensure that everyone will forever remember your remarkable day.

The moments that can be brightened by a butterfly release are endless.

Picture your child’s special occasion embellished with a butterfly release!
What child wouldn’t want to release butterflies for their birthday?

Whether you want a symbolic release for a graduation party or a unique and exciting highlight to your anniversary party, a butterfly release is sure to create lasting memories for all in attendance.

The South African Butterfly Breeding Association (SABBA), is a subsidiary company of Conservation of Butterflies in South Africa (CBISA). Its function is to deal with controversial issues, by setting out guidelines for the "butterfly enthusiast", accommodating their individual rights as well as those rights of the environment, species and related ecosystems. Enhancing the release of butterflies in local communities that will improve the quality of ecosystems, their species and creating suitable environments for all animal, bird, vegetation, shrub, tree and bird species alike. All to coincide with one another, as each one is dependant on another for its survival. By releasing butterflies, you are assisting in this scientific program and at the same time fulfilling your personal needs.

Butterflies are fragile and should always be treated with care and used in a proper manner for the benefit of our environments, and at the same time, we have to realize that they are there to serve a purpose as well as to provide us humans with a deep sense of understanding and a great pleasure. A sense of peace.

What do you need to know?
The symbolism of butterflies signifies something different to each person who gets one,
while the meaning assigned to butterflies differs from culture to culture.

• The ancient Celts believed that butterflies were souls seeking a new mother.
• The ancient Greeks called them 'psyche', because their flitting from flower to flower represented the constant movement within the human mind.
• For many the releasing of butterflies at weddings symbolizes happiness, as butterflies dart off in all directions proclaiming the promised marriage of two souls bound in Gods trust and word.
• The Blackfoot tribe of American Indians believed that they bring dreams to people.
• The Chinese see them as a symbol of love.
• Many other cultures see them as a common symbol of transformation, representing a persons metamorphosis through life.
• In some other cultures, butterflies are seen as the souls of departed relatives.
• In some images of the Garden of Eden, Adam's soul is symbolized by a butterfly.
• In many countries the Cleopatra butterfly is called the Easter Jesus and tend to appear around Easter and is considered a symbol of Christ's resurrection.
• All around the world butterflies represent the winged messengers of some kind or other and always touch the souls of all humans.
• A readily new trend in America is to hold butterfly release ceremonies to symbolize a loved one's "release" from this life.
• According to an American Indian Legend – If anyone desires a wish to come true they must first capture a butterfly and whisper that wish to it. Since butterfly can make no sound, the butterfly can not reveal the wish to anyone but the Great Spirit who hears and sees all. In gratitude for giving the beautiful butterfly its freedom, the Great Spirit always grants the wish. So, according to legend, by making a wish and giving a butterfly its freedom, the wish will be taken to the heavens and be granted.

The selling of butterflies for weddings will be fazed out during 2015 and 2016. In place thereof - 'Butterfly Wedding Venues' will be set up throughout the nine Provinces of South Africa - to accommodate anyone who wishes to get married amongst our beautiful butterflies.
The first of these 'Butterfly Wedding Venues' is already in progress and should be ready for use in May 2018 - in the Pretoria Area. -A spectacular Venue for any wedding.