I love butterflies; I always have! I’ve always been fascinated by their morphology, bright colors, and how they impact the environment. Growing up, my grandmother called them “flutterby’s” because they’d just “flutter by”, and I have a distinct memory of releasing butterflies we raised as a science experiment when I was young. As butterfly species become more in danger due to climate changes and human activity, butterfly gardens are essential in protecting various species. The Florida Museum of Natural History, located in Gainesville, Florida, has a stellar butterfly garden, where they raise and release various species of butterflies. They call it their butterfly rainforest! Here’s what to expect in the Florida Butterfly Garden:
Butterflies at The Florida Butterfly Garden
In the exhibit, butterflies are free to roam around an immense greenhouse. Insect experts, as well as local university students, care for and release different species of butterflies. The horticulture throughout the greenhouse is also carefully selected and cared for by plant experts and students. The entire exhibit is breathtakingly beautiful, and you will learn a lot from the friendly staff!Â
Butterfly releases occur every day. I was lucky enough to see one, and I was not disappointed! The Florida Butterfly Garden is home to 1,000 individual butterflies at any given time, and 50 species are represented in the population. I genuinely enjoyed walking through the lush garden, observing plants, waterfalls, and butterflies!
Visitors can get a glimpse of the science lab where chrysalis is hanging, waiting to hatch butterflies! The incredible life cycles are explained in detail, and the staff is always ready to answer any questions you have. Check out the live webcam of the garden here, and of the chrysalis lab here!
The Florida Museum of Natural History
The rest of the Natural History Museum is worth visiting as well. Various displays of Florida’s unique ecosystem and animal species can be seen. Prehistoric fossils are displayed as well, including a giant sloth standing over 13 feet (4 meters) tall! It’s crazy to think that sloths the size of modern elephants roamed where Mickey Mouse now lives!
The area surrounding the museum contains bat houses and hiking trails. If you’re lucky, you can see the hundreds of bats leaving their houses to hunt pesky mosquitos and other insects around the area at sundown!
I initially stopped at this museum as a brief stop during my 2018 road trip, and I’m so glad I did! The museum wasn’t initially planned, but it ended up being one of the best parts of our trip. The museum itself is free for visitors, and the butterfly jungle itself has a small fee to keep the lab funded.
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Like my photos? I used a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX80 compact camera to snap incredible shots in the garden!
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This looks so cool! I love butterflies so seeing a butterfly release would be exciting. I’ll need to stop here the next time I visit Florida!
Definitely! Thanks for the comment!