National Geographic

Baco Bugis followshis own migrationpattern from Decem-ber to March, movinghundreds of miles tofollow butterflies deepinto remote Indone-sian forests. He huntsthe elusive birdwings—sometimes finding justone or two a week—forwhich dealers can payup to a hundred dollarsand foreign collectorsmuch more.PREVIOUS PHOTOA catcher on Bacanisland, Indonesia, sortshis specimens, whichhe’ll sell in Bali. Fromthere the butterfliesare exported through-out Asia and on tocollectors worldwide.``````The peacock swallowtail, Papilio blumei, livesonly here, on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi,and only at a certain altitude. Its mountainhome is a steep rock covered with a thin layerof wet earth, where every handhold and stepsends away a small mudslide. And somewherealong the way, between the valley and the peak,an economy becomes clear: This is why somebutterflies are valuable. This is why there’s ablack market for the rare ones.The hunter, a man named Jasmin Zainuddin,stops a moment. He carries a stick that he uses toprod the mud, testing it. “Only a little bit higher,”he says.Jasmin has lived his entire life on this island,and over decades he has built a network ofinformers, transporters, and catchers to moveIt can be atreacherous thing,hunting thisparticularbutterfly.116 ILLUSTRATION OF PAPILIO BLUMEI: MONICA SERRANO, NGM STAFF