Great news: The popular live butterflies at the Canadian Museum of Nature are not taking off anytime soon. Butterflies in Flight, a special exhibition of live, tropical butterflies is extended until October 14, 2019!
At any given point, hundreds of butterflies (about two dozen different species) flit around inside the museum’s solarium, landing on lush vegetation and feeding stations. There are some wonderful new additions, including the impressive Atlas Moth. With a wingspan stretching up to 27 centimetres, the Atlas Moth is one of the biggest insects on the planet!
The temperature in the butterfly house is kept around 26 degrees Celsius to keep these tropical beauties thriving. Be sure to wear light clothing in order to stay comfortable in this humid oasis. Want a butterfly to land on you? Wear bright colours and get ready for the selfie opportunity of a lifetime!
In the nearby animal care, just outside the solarium, visitors can observe a butterfly nursery through a viewing window. If you’re lucky, you may even spot one emerging from its chrysalis.
The exhibition is a combination of beauty, tranquility and, of course, education. Interpretive panels provide helpful explanations about metamorphosis, pollination, butterfly anatomy, flight mechanics, and conservation.
Peter Simpson of Artsfile described Butterflies in Flight as “…a glorious experience, as tiny wings of red and blue and green and yellow flapped all around. It was an airborne spectrum of delicate colour.” Kat Walcott with Ottawa Life wrote that this exhibit “is definitely one you and your family do not want to miss!”
Entry to the butterfly house is time-ticketed. It’s strongly encouraged to purchase tickets in advance at nature.ca to avoid disappointment. Be sure to arrive at the museum at least 15 minutes prior to the ticket time (30 minutes is better).
The special exhibition fee is $5 in addition to the cost of general museum admission. (On Thursdays from 5 pm to 8 pm, general admission is free; the special exhibition fee still applies).
Fun facts about butterflies
- Did you know that butterflies taste through their feet, and a group is called a flutter?
- Butterflies and moths are classified in the insect order Lepidoptera, which means “scaled wings” in Latin. Moth species outnumber butterfly species 10 to 1!
- Over 180,000 species of Lepidoptera are found everywhere on Earth, except Antarctica.
- Butterflies are excellent pollinators. They flit from one flower to another, searching for nectar or places to lay their eggs.
- Metamorphosis: After roughly four days in an egg, a caterpillar emerges and lives for around two weeks. This is followed by 10 days or so in a chrysalis. The adult butterfly emerges from the chrysalis and will live anywhere between two and six weeks.
- Costa Rica, which occupies only 0.03 per cent of the Earth’s surface, is home to 10 per cent of the world’s butterfly species!
- Monarch butterflies of eastern North America make the longest migration of any insect in the world. It takes four generations of monarchs to complete the migration cycle.
Visit nature.ca for information about hours, admission, and other activities. Look for the hashtag #ButterfliesattheMuseum on the Museum’s social media channels: Twitter (@museumofnature) and Instagram (museumofnature). Follow the Museum on facebook.com/Canadianmuseumofnature.
