DRAPER, Utah — If you blink, you could easily pass Riverbottom Butterflies, which is tucked away in a wooded area off 700 West in Draper.
Brothers Parker and Michael Bautner operate the business on their decades-old family farm.
Parker started Riverbottom Butterflies around seven years ago. Back then, he was growing plants to sell to nurseries and landscapers. However, life’s timing brought butterflies into his life instead.
“Once I saw potential and how fun it was to work with butterflies, and the impact that I could have on other people, I really started diving deeper into that,” Parker explained.
The business only began gaining traction in 2020 when their butterfly growing kits were promoted by a friend who had a popular Instagram page. At the time, their plans to distribute the kits in classrooms had been sidetracked by COVID-19.
Since then, the business has evolved, and a majority of sales come from selling butterflies wholesale right now.
Michael said their business has doubled every year for the past couple of years. They currently sell about 2,000-3,000 butterflies each week to people all across the country for various occasions including weddings and funerals.
He explained more folks want butterflies as replacements for more traditional, celebratory items things like balloons and doves.
“The biggest problem we have now, which is a good problem to have, is we don’t have enough production. We don’t have enough butterflies,” Michael reflected.
How they obtain and refresh their seasonal butterfly stock is a fascinating sight to see. The Bautners will head into nearby fields with a big net to catch as many, native butterflies as they can. Then, the butterflies will be placed into aerated containers, in a temperature-controlled space where they’ll breed.
“Every time I handle them and see them, it’s just awe every time,” explains Michael. “I love that I've been able to see it grow so much while I've been helping my brother do it.”
As their business continues to flourish, Parker says he takes great joy in sharing his admiration of butterflies with others.
“The handling, and the up-close with nature … You just can't get that from a YouTube video. You can see lots of cool things, but actually touching it and holding it in your hand can really impact a person for the rest of their life,” Parker said.
In recent years, the Bautners carved out a path in their family farm that acts as a “drive-thru”, where people can place their butterfly orders and pick-up their butterfly growing kits.
