A fine of 200,000 dollars for Italians who stole butterflies from a national park in Sri Lanka

An Italian man and his son were fined 60 million Sri Lankan rupees (200,000 dollars) for attempting to smuggle hundreds of endemic insects, including 92 species of butterflies, out of a safari park.

The guards at Yala National Park arrested Luigi Ferrari, 68, and his son Mattia, 28, on May 8th after discovering jars containing these insects in their possession.

Investigations revealed that the two men lured the insects using animal attractants and planned to use wax bags to preserve them chemically.

The two Italians were convicted in early September for illegally collecting, possessing, and transporting insects, and they were sentenced to pay the highest fine ever for wildlife crimes in the country.

Keh Sujiwa Nishantha, one of the park rangers, told BBC Sinhala that on the day of the incident, a safari Jeep driver informed his team of rangers that a “suspicious vehicle” was parked by the roadside and that the two men inside it had ventured into the jungle with insect-catching nets.