The impressive Buenos Aires museum that houses 70,000 butterflies from five continents
In addition to pans, unbreakable plates and shiny aluminum pots, José León Suárez's bazaar displayed a treasure that was impossible for the little one to grasp. Andrés Eugenio Varga . Framed in a small wooden frame behind the counter, The kaleidoscopic Chysiridia Rhipeus mesmerized him every time he went in there with his mother.
“My grandmother was persistent and tried to buy it from the owner countless times, but there was no way. Years passed, and when he became an orphan, one day there was a knock on his door. It was the lady from the bazaar, holding the little painting. I think that's where this unstoppable adventure began,” he says. Sabrina Varga, also an entomologist and the eldest daughter of the creator of the Mariposas del Mundo Museum, located in San Miguel . The icy butterfly from Tibet, soaring over the snow at 5,600 meters, isn't there. Nor is the elusive owl-eye from the Amazon. "It's the one in the painting, endemic to the island of Madagascar, and always chosen from among millions."
The children crowd around, and onomatopoeia bounces off the concave display cases. “Whoo-hoo! Uh! Wow!” echoes through the hallways. It's one of the many schools in the area that come here as part of their natural science studies.
In the rooms and against the walls, panels assembled in collaboration with experts from the Natural History Museum in London, display complete families of specimens from Polynesia, Africa, the Amazon, and China There's a display case with the Iranian flag, which marks a "before and after" of the Gulf War, showing changes and new stains on the wings caused by toxins in the air.
Along the way, Andrés Eugenio Varga didn't just encounter butterflies. That's why the museum also has hundreds of Huge and tiny arthropods, such as those fossilized in amber 45 million years ago, collected from excavations in Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic In one corner, you can see sacred Egyptian scarabs, giant Philippine scorpions, and snails in every color spectrum. More than 70,000 butterflies and many other insects from around the world are gathered here, forming the most important private collection in Latin America.
Although he was an administrative officer, the police profession didn't seem compatible with traipsing around the world chasing insects. Rather, he seemed to be the oddball. Long hours in the office allowed Officer Varga—who eventually rose to become commissioner—to sharpen an idea that had been swirling around in his mind, delving into books he'd kept since he was 10. “Many kids are drawn to collecting: stamps, figurines, cars. My thing has always been butterflies.” he recalled when opening the museum.
Launched into adventure at a young age, his first trips were to Argentina and then to the American continent. Little by little, the sale of special surgical steel pins for conservation provided him with financial support, and he was encouraged to go further. Between journeys and explorations, he studied taxidermy and entomology, and connected with some of the world's leading figures, giving seminars and enlisting the help of embassies. Years later, He had traveled across entire continents, from the deep, unexplored jungles of South America to the Himalayan mountains, passing through vast African plains and Pacific islands. .
Hours of walks, nights in a tent at the mercy of wild mammals, extreme climates, and even guerrilla zones stood between him and the butterflies. But if a new one wandered around, resisting color patterns or family resemblances, he had to chase it. Habitats, behaviors, life cycles, camouflage, deformities, smallness or excessive size... each one held a mystery, a story to tell.
“ He traveled around the world twice, because he was one of six people with international permission to hunt and transport them. But he was reserved. He would enthusiastically show you the difference between the two, and from the story it emerged, for example, that he had found it thanks to the help of an African tribe. Then he would unpack his luggage and hang up a spear (which can now be seen in the museum) that the Zulu village leader had given him. But that was it,” says his son Andrés, who is in charge of guided tours of the museum, which opened in 1996, and whom his father personally attended between trips until his death in 2019.
From children to scientists and several celebrities toured its halls. They were joined by nature lovers and curious visitors, impressed by some incredible butterflies, such as white ones with red spots characteristic of snow, and from Nepal, Tibet and China, for which an Arab sheikh has reportedly made a surprising offer .
Others linger in the most colorful display cases, in front of creepy spiders and scorpions in menacing poses. At the center of the museum are the "Colias Vargas," specimens unknown until the founder discovered them. Belonging to the Pieridae family, they were caught in Tafí del Valle (Tucumán), the Puna region of Salta, and Abra Pampa (Jujuy), at 3,600 meters above sea level, using "aerial traps," as their creator noted. "When his reputation grew and his name was mentioned in scientific works, he began attending conferences and naturalist trips, visiting some programs, and giving reports. But he always avoided meeting with high-ranking people or being asked by a president," says Sabrina, who also shares duties with Lis and Ingrid (the other two daughters), and thus the four siblings maintain the family legacy.
“Even today, in the safe where we have the largest butterfly on record, there are documents and VHS videos with experiences that not even we know about,” Andrés says. He talks about the White Witch (Thysania agrippina) with 31.5 centimeters between the wing tips, which its father found in February 1998 in northern Salta . Although its usual size is usually between 20 and 25 centimeters, this would be a deformity, but for statistical purposes, the largest. It surpasses the Asian Queen Alexandra's Birdwing (Ornithoptera alexandrae), which reaches 31 centimeters, and the Atlas Butterfly (Attacus atlas), which has a larger surface area, although less distance between wings.
“Every so often we open a box and dig little by little, because hunting was allowed back then, for example, and there are images that are sensitive by today's standards. It's a slow process, involving emotional issues and a lot of dedication. Since it's a family museum, all the available equipment is the four siblings. But we know there's a lot of material. One of the last things we discovered was a Donation of 165 butterflies to the Grigore Antipa Natural History Museum (Bucharest, Romania), because we found a letter of thanks The museum is 50 years old, but at the same time we say we're in full development," says the youngest son.
While the museum can be explored on a self-guided basis, over time, greater interaction with the public has been required. The provision of QR codes that link to subtitled audio and trivia, reviews, and scientific classifications have been complemented by small In these talks, Andrés Jr. often explains how long butterflies live, how far they travel, how high they reach, and what distinguishes them from one family to another. .
Finally, the museum opens with a digital microscopy demonstration, where live eggs and caterpillars are examined, a step prior to the metamorphosis process. Next to a shelf, you can also see the book Butterflies of Argentina, a diurnal and nocturnal classification of specimens, with photos and recommendations on breeding and care, which Varga Sr. published with the help of Bernard D'Abrera, a famous Australian taxonomist and entomologist. The museum also has a laboratory where specimens of monarchs, the orange butterflies with black spots, are bred. If your visit coincides with the time they emerge from the chrysalis, the visit can conclude with the release of some of them, an activity that especially excites the little ones, who watch them fly away through the neighborhood.
Butterflies of the World Museum
Italia 650, San Miguel. Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
General admission, $5,000.
011 4664-2108
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