They live their full life in the farms or are legally collected. The farms release a certain percentage of each batch back into the wild to protect each species. It is a very "green" process, and provides jobs to people to collect them instead of poaching, and diminishing species. All insects are imported legally. Many countries now issue export permits with quotas on species hunted or trapped in
the wild. Many of the species are raised or ranched on farms specifically for the industry, which provides a source of income in those countries. In this way habitat protection is recognized and the insects thought of as a renewable resource, giving great creedence to the statement "selling insects to save insects".
*Quote from Larry J. (World Wildlife Fund advisor)
"...collecting or buying tropical butterflies seems nothing less than a way to speed up their extinction. Right? Wrong! Those who equate killing butterflies with destroying butterflies don't know much about butterflies, the tropics, or what strategies have gotten people in developing countries to save their forests. The fact is, buying tropical insects for your collection may be the best investment you ever made in tropical forest protection."
