Where the Butterflies Live

During the rain on Friday afternoon, Zach and I stopped at the Butterfly House, which he had never visited. I had been there perhaps three times before, but I'm always game for anything that has to do with animals or nature. The first room you enter after buying your ticket is an anteroom with lots of information, posters, specimens, and a large enclosure strung with chrysalis after chrysalis waiting to open. These are sent from their countries of origin packed in foam and cotton. While we were there, we saw a few butterflies emerge. It takes about 20-30 minutes for the wings to completely unfold, and about an hour before the new butterflies can fly. You can see the difference in size between the one ont he left, which opened right when we got there, and the one on the right, which opened about 20 minutes later.

By the time we left, both butterflies were looking a bit less rumpled.

Inside the actual exhibit it is hot and humid and filled with nectar-rich flowers.

Dozens of species were represented by about a hundred or so butterflies flitting about. Their lifespans vary by species, from just a couple weeks to more than a year. I won't identify these. Just enjoy their portraits.

Several butterflies had designs on the underside of their wings that look like eyes, designed to fool predators into thinking they are looking at an owl rather than a tasty meal. Zach pointed out that these "eyes" even have the white reflection of light that a real eye would have. This is just one example of thousands of things that make it impossible for me to believe in blind evolution. This is obvious evidence of a loving and clever Creator who wants us to wonder about Him and seek to know Him.

After leaving the greenhouse filled with butterflies, there is another room filled with amazing (and large) insect specimens under glass. Really incredible. I love looking at them, but I'm glad I live in an area where the cold and snow keeps the really huge, creepy, and dangerous insects and arachnids out. The worst we ever deal with up here is mosquitoes. I'll take those rather than enormous flying walking sticks and scorpions, thank you very much. There were also some live animals, including turles, a tortoise, a ball python, large cockroaches, and a big grumpy toad.

We stood in the gift shop for awhile while an employee (or perhaps the owner) filled us in on how they get the butterflies, how they raise them, what they do with them once they die, and general interesting facts about butterflies.

Then we headed off on our bike ride around the island . . .