James Pearce of Sugar House never thought that swinging a butterfly net 44 years ago would lead to a collection of thousands of butterflies that today fill museum drawers at his home.

But viewing his collection four decades later, he sees how the hobby has helped shape his life.

"It stimulated my interest in science, which then led to medicine," he said.

After showing an interest in catching the insects as a young boy in 1951, his mother bought him a real butterfly net - "to do it right," he said, "you need the right equipment." Taking their nets, Pearce and his buddies would spend summer afternoons in the canyons, walking on trails, observing nature, and catching insects.

Never tiring of the hobby, he soon was reading books about Lepidoptera - an order of insects consisting of butterflies, skippers and moths - and the sciences associated with them. And he learned further observation skills in the process. Later, Pearce decided to pursue a medical career, and currently has his own practice in Murray.

Besides the things that butterflies have taught him, it has given him the opportunity to explore Utah's scenic canyons and other wild lands - which is a real stress reliever, he says.

"There's nothing more enjoyable than getting out on a nature trail," he said.

However, not just anyone can catch butterflies, says his wife Virginia, as "each butterfly has its own flight pattern." How to properly swing a net is only one of many techniques developed with time and practice.

Having collected thousands of butterflies from all over the world - some ordered over the Internet, though most of them caught - Pearce calls himself a conservationist. He limits himself to catching only six butterflies of each species. He also is a member of the Utah Lepidopterists' Society, a nonprofit education and scientific organization.

One of Pearce's conservationist traits is that he doesn't publicize where he catches his butterflies, afraid that people might disrupt the areas and make the butterflies disappear. He said he's seen it happen before, and does what he can to prevent it from happening again.

But, for his own records, he documents every butterfly caught, its species, where he caught it and when.

Today, he has nearly 70 drawers filled with butterflies, and a few other insects, too, including spiders, beetles, scorpions and the Sunset Moth, "the most colorful insect in the world," he said.

And on shelves high above the museum drawers are hundreds more butterflies waiting in envelopes to be mounted.

With so many, it is difficult for Pearce to pick his favorites. But the Morpho cypris is one, a shiny blue butterfly with wings resembling tinfoil that appear to change colors in the light. Another favorite is the intra swallowtail, a colorful insect with "tails" protruding from its edged wings.

"It's endless," he said. "The variety of butterflies are just endless."

Of course, to know James Pearce is to know that collecting butterflies is just one of his many hobbies. He also likes British sports cars, playing the banjo, and dabbling in a handful of other projects.

Yet his smile broadens when talking about butterflies.

Pearce, who is the son-in-law of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints President Gordon B. Hinckley, says he has tried to get his father-in-law into the mountains to catch butterflies, but so far he hasn't been successful in getting Hinckley to swing a net.

"But he admires my collection," Pearce said.