IABES Membership

The International Association of Butterfly Exhibitions (IABE) was established in 2001 to advance the international butterfly exhibition industry through representation, communication, education, and marketing. We believe that through cooperative marketing, butterfly exhibitions will be able to better compete with other nearby attractions that seek to draw from the same limited group of visitors. In 2008 we officially welcomed butterfly farmers and suppliers to our organization and renamed ourselves the International Association of Butterfly Exhibitors and Suppliers (IABES). We have a membership level to meet your needs and invite you to join IABES.

In addition, sponsorships are available to butterfly livestock breeders/suppliers or other corporations (including future exhibitors) that are interested in promoting butterfly exhibitions. Sponsors are listed in the amount of their contribution and then alphabetically.

IABES MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES

Regular: 150 US$

Regular Membership is open to all institutions, public or private, that currently display or rear and/or supply living butterflies and other invertebrates, whether seasonally or year-round, or will be opening a display within one calendar year.  Individuals and businesses that are engaged professionally as consultants in the industry are also welcome as members.  Subject to an invitation of the Board of Directors, so too are those individuals and institutions that are in some way devoted to the advancement of the industry but don’t necessarily fit in the category of exhibits, supplier and consultants.  Upon payment of annual dues, the institution named is entitled to appoint one (1) Institutional Representative who shall represent the member institution as the point of contact for all correspondence between the member and the Association, and shall have one (1) vote on all business decisions brought by the Board of Directors before the Association for a vote of the membership.

Flagship: 300 US $

Flagship Membership is open to all institutions that qualify as members above. Flagship Membership differs from Regular Membership in the amount of annual dues required, being two times the amount paid by Regular Members. In exchange, Flagship Member institutions will be more prominently featured in Association materials, including the website, brochures, map and other promotional articles. Upon payment of annual dues, the institution named is entitled to appoint one (1) Institutional Representative who shall represent the member institution as the point of contact for all correspondence between the member and the Association, and shall have one (1) vote on all business decisions brought by the Board of Directors before the Association for a vote of the membership. 

Patron:  500$ and more

Patron Member institutions will be listed first in Association materials, including the website, brochures, map and other promotional articles. They will have an announcement in every issue of The Flutterings. Upon payment of annual dues, the institution named is entitled to appoint one (1) Institutional Representative who shall represent the member institution as the point of contact for all correspondence between the member and the Association, and shall have one (1) vote on all business decisions brought by the Board of Directors before the Association for a vote of the membership.

Non Voting Members

Individuals: 50 US$

Individual Membership is open to all persons interested in furthering the mission and purpose of the Association.  Upon payment of annual dues, the individual is entitled to receive all notices, publications, newsletters, and other membership informational materials of the Association.  Individual Members, although non-voting for regular membership business, may serve in a voting capacity as a Director of the Board if elected as such by the voting members.

Advertisers: 150 US$ and more

Are those people not directly related to the industry but who would like to support IABES.  They can advertise in The Flutterings, on the poster and/or on the website, the size if which would be proportional to the amount paid.

IABES regular or flagship membership is available to any exhibition that is open to the public and agrees to participate in various promotions created by the IABES for the benefit of its members. These promotions include:

• providing on-site a visible kiosk or wall-hanging display, created by IABES, that informs visitors about IABES and features brochures and/or other information about member exhibitions around the world, 
• information on this web site devoted to member institutions, including links to websites of member institutions and reciprocal links from the member websites back to the IABES website,
• and other joint promotions as they become available, potentially in cooperation with corporate sponsors, including photo contests, travel magazine articles, and an upcoming Imax promotion. 

IABES members are expected to participate fully in IABES marketing projects, including visitation surveys and other data-gathering methods to be implemented while researching cooperative marketing strategies.

Eventually, as determined by the membership, the Association could facilitate cooperative purchasing of some gift store merchandise, represent members in dealings with regulatory agencies and package delivery services, or other activities that benefit member institutions. Through cooperation and the open exchange of information between member institutions, IABES will serve to improve the butterfly exhibition industry by promoting an ethical, healthy exhibit science, and also serve as an information resource for our visitors.

If you are interested in creating a Butterfly House, IABES can direct you toward resources available with information on how to get started.  In the United States, additional information about permitting and regulatory issues is available from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  Another way to learn more about the Butterfly Exhibition and Insectarium industry is to attend the Annual Invertebrates in Education and Conservation  conference in Rio Rico, Arizona, hosted by the Sonoran Arthropod Studies Institute  and the International Conference of Butterfly Exhibitors and Suppliers (ICBES). This conference is open to all active butterfly exhibitors and the breeders who supply them.  For more information on ICBES click here.

If you already own or operate a Butterfly House and would like more information on joining the International Association of Butterfly Exhibitors & Suppliers, or for information about becoming a sponsor, contact us at:

International Association of Butterfly Exhibitors and Suppliers

PO Box 740219, Arvada, CO 80006-0219 USA

Phone: 303-432-1679

Fax: 303-432-1679 (call ahead to set up)

E-mail: info [at] iabes.org