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Description: The new Butterfly Habitat opened on 18 September, and is now a permanent part of the Springs Preserve, 333 S. Valley View Blvd. The habitat has metal screen walls and can be entered through a vestibule with an inner and outer door to keep the butterflies from escaping. Upon exiting the habitat, visitors are given a visual inspection by a docent to make sure there are no hitchhikers. It will be open each fall and spring, when the weather is ideal for their open-air habitat. The exhibit is located on the south side of the property next to its botanical garden. I have always felt that the botanical garden, with its many desert-adoptive plants, was one of the most beautiful parts of this property. The addition of this open air butterfly habitat only adds to this beautiful spot. The hundreds of butterflies on exhibit will include species such as painted ladies (Figs. 02 & 11), mourning cloaks, red admiral, American lady (Fig. 06), Blue Morpho (Figs. 01 & 05), monarch and queen. The habitat will offer different types of butterflies each season, in part because of the insects’ short lifespan. On average, because they only spend a few weeks as an adult, they will be bringing in a variety of different species, including native species and exotics from around the world and changing them up from week to week or month to month. The butterflies are farm-raised and packed individually for transport to the habitat. The habitat has metal screen walls and can be entered through a vestibule with an inner and outer door to keep the butterflies from escaping. Upon exiting the habitat, visitors are given a visual inspection by a docent to make sure there are no hitchhikers. There is a separate entrance fee of $2 for members and $3 for nonmembers. The habitat is open during Springs Preserve operating hours, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.
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10/18/2014 Trip Notes: Unfortunately, the weather for today's visit turned out to be rather dismal. Not only did this limit good lighting for picture taking, but it caused many of the butterflies to remain “perched: on the habitat’s walls and ceiling, instead of flying around and landing on the many beautiful flowers (Figs. 04, 06, 07, 10 & 11) that were planted throughout the habitat. Luckily, we were able to capture a few good pictures before it started to rain. Probably the "star of the exhibit was the Blue Morpho (Figs. 01, 05, 07 & 08). Click here to learn more about this beautiful specimen ... Blue Morpho Butterfly (Morpho peleides). The last four pictures (Figs. 12 thru 15) were taken during our walk through the botanical gardens before it started to rain.
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