The 65-year-old, who used to run an animal feed business, originally took photographs of birds. Now he is a key figure in the world of Colombian butterflies.

Jaramillo is the co-author of an inventory that led to Colombia being recognised as having the widest variety of butterfly species in the world.

The list he worked on was published in the British Natural History Museum in London, which has the world’s largest collection of butterflies, in June.

The “Checklist of Colombian Butterflies” identifies 3,642 different species in the Andean country, which makes up 19.4% of the known global varieties.

But Jaramillo is keen to point out he is not a collector. “I broke from the traditional image associated with butterflies of collectors that kill them, put them in an envelope and then pin them to the inside of a box,” Jaramillo said.

“I’m simply not capable of killing them.”

Like bees, butterflies are pollinators vital to the ecosystem, and are also an important source of food for birds and snakes. Yet their habitats are under threat from deforestation, agriculture and global warming.

Jaramillo has an archive of 220,000 photos of butterflies and has captured images of 1,500 different species.

Tricking the butterflies

He has spent the last 15 years trekking through jungles and woodlands in search of the “winged jewels” – a dangerous pastime given those areas are infested with armed groups and drug traffickers.

“I want to go to many places but there are some I don’t go to out of fear,” said Jaramillo.

When he does venture out, Jaramillo takes with him a camera, tripod, and a container of pink liquid he prepares every morning – shrimp bait. He spreads the foul-smelling bait on rocks and leaves by a rushing stream, and even lays out cotton balls soaked in the liquid.

“That’s how I make them think it’s bird droppings,” he explained. “When the butterflies land on a leaf they stay there for quite some time. They’re almost like models.

“Without the bait, it would be impossible to see certain species in the woodland because they live in very tall trees.”

Some like it hot

Another potential barrier is the weather. “If there’s no sun, there are no butterflies.”

After beetles, butterflies and moths are the most numerous insects on the planet with almost 160,000 described species.

“In Colombia, I think there are about twice as many species of butterflies as birds,” said American Kim Garwood, Jaramillo’s fellow inventory author.

“In the Andes I have been told there are about 10-15% of the butterfly species that are undescribed. We have many photos of undescribed species.”

Near his farm on a road with little traffic, Jaramillo, who is retired, says he is in the perfect place to photograph butterflies when the sun rises and the day’s warm air helps them stay aloft.

But Jaramillo’s work doesn’t end with sunset, as at nightfall, he turns his lens onto moths.

“With butterflies and moths, I have work for this lifetime and 10 more,” he said.