Ian Knight has a passion for monarch butterflies. He used to farm them at his property in Hope, near Nelson, to be released at weddings all around the country. Now he just enjoys watching them hatch and grow.

Ian Knight has a passion for monarch butterflies. He used to farm them at his property in Hope, near Nelson, to be released at weddings all around the country.

He decided to give up the business when weddings were put on hold during the pandemic.

But he still enjoys watching the monarch's circle of life taking place not far from his back door.

"They're the the the largest and most decorative butterfly that we have in New Zealand," he told Country Life.

His family grew up with monarchs and swan plants which the creatures use to feed on.

"My youngest daughter was a marriage celebrant, and she came home from a wedding that she'd conducted one Saturday afternoon and she said, 'Hey Dad, I was at this wedding today and the couple released some monarch butterflies.'

"She said it was absolutely beautiful. It was the first time she'd experienced it.

"And so she naturally chatted to couple after the ceremony was over and we found out that they had searched right throughout New Zealand and that there was only one supplier up in Auckland for the whole of the country.

"I had recently retired at that point. And so she said, 'You've been a bit of an entrepreneur when we were kids, you always had swan plants around.' She said, 'All you'd have to do is to to grow some swan plants, put up a website on the internet and you can halve the monopoly that the guy in Auckland's got.'"

A few years later, his business was so successful he had the monopoly - nationwide.

Listen to the full chat with Ian Knight.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details