The Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens’ Butterfly Experience will return this spring into summer from May 16 to July 19. Hundreds of live butterflies will take flight in the Tropical Orchard greenhouse. A new Butterfly Release encounter will be available at a separate ticket price on select Saturdays.
Tickets for the Butterfly Experience and the Butterfly Release are on sale now at buffalogardens.com.
Hundreds of bold and brightly colored butterflies will fly through the exhibit with various species like swallowtails, monarchs, painted ladies, red admirals, and many more. The 1200 square foot Tropical Orchard greenhouse will be home to the butterflies as well as dozens of fruit-producing and nectar rich plants and flowers for them to feed on. The space will also feature a pupa display, known as an emergence case, that gives visitors an inside look at the beginning of their journey at the Botanical Gardens. Here, visitors will have to chance to see the butterflies emerge from their chrysalides as they make their way into their home.
For those looking for an even more up-close encounter with the butterflies, a limited number of tickets will be available for their new Butterfly Release encounters. This exclusive event offers early-access to the Botanical Gardens before they open to the public, and participants will learn about the butterflies, including their life cycle, their behavior, and their role in the ecosystem, and will end with the opportunity to help release a new butterfly into the exhibit. The Butterfly Releases will take place on May 23, 30, June 6, 13, 20, 27, July 11 and July 18.
“We currently offer a program where our guests can feed our fish, and we thought it would be wonderful to give our guests the opportunity to get up close and personal with our butterflies too, which is why we’re starting the Butterfly Release encounters this year. There is so much to learn about these incredibly beautiful and fascinating creatures, and our hope is to create a generation of learners who are excited about pollinators like our butterflies and bees,” said Amanda Johnston, director of learning and interpretation.
“We had such a positive experience last year with our butterflies, and we are so excited to welcome them back even sooner this year in the spring. We’ve learned so much about our butterflies and how they interact in their new home, and the community will be really pleased with what our experience has to offer again this year,” said President and CEO, Erin Grajek.
Pre-purchased tickets are highly recommended. The Butterfly Experience is free for Botanical Gardens members, but all attendees must have a ticket. The overall visit time is expected to be between 1-1.5 hours. The expected time in the butterfly space will be approximately 15 minutes. This window will provide plenty of time to see the butterflies and capture the magic of this special experience with candid photos and selfies. While touching and holding the butterflies is not permitted, there is a chance that they briefly land onto visitors making for an exciting photo opportunity. The Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens also notes that their butterflies are sourced from USDA certified butterfly farms in Florida, Kentucky, and South Carolina. Their butterflies have been raised specifically for educational purposes. The Botanical Gardens has provided a full list of what visitors can expect, guidelines, policies and more at buffalogardens.com.