Thenmala in Kollam district of Kerala will have the first national butterfly park. The project of the park will be implemented by the Kerala Forest Research Institute and the ecotourism department. The park will be established in 1.21 hectares of land adjacent to the office building of the Kallada Irrigation Project. Thenmala and Nedumbassery in Ernakulam district were shortlisted for setting up of the park. Feasibility studies were conducted on both.

However, the natural habitat system and the availability of rare species such as yamfly, atlas moth, monkey puzzle and luna moth in Thenmala gave it an edge. The high humidity content in this town also helped.