Collins has 1.2 million butterflies from across Africa delicately pinned in frames and stored in rows of shelves, with another 3 million in envelopes. ''They need to be kept in dark spaces," he said.

Butterflies are abundant in the Central African Republic. It is home to nearly 600 identified species, many brilliantly colored, some as big as a saucer. Clouds of the fluttering insects often ...