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Photos: Beautiful Butterflies Are Back At The American Museum Of Natural History
By
Jen Chung
Published Oct 31, 2014
Modified Oct 31, 2014
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By
Jen Chung
Published Oct 31, 2014
Modified Oct 31, 2014
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Tomorrow, the American Museum of Natural History opens up its wondrous Butterfly Conservatory again. Even though the conservatory will be up for many months (its last day is May 25), this is always a real treat for New Yorkers.
You wait in a vestibule before entering the 1,200-square-foot vivarium, which is full of tropical plants and flowers and thousands of butterflies, which flutter and dance around the space. Sometimes they'll land on your head, your shirt, your hand (there's another vestibule on the way out where they make sure no butterflies are hitching a ride to the rest of the museum). The AMNH explains:
The conservatory’s butterflies come from farms in Florida, Costa Rica, Kenya, Thailand, Malaysia, Ecuador, and Australia.Featured species include iridescent blue morpho butterflies, striking scarlet swallowtails, large owl butterflies, and beautiful green birdwings. Because the average life span of a butterfly is only two to three weeks, roughly 500 butterfly pupae will be shipped to the Museum weekly for the duration of the exhibit, and the butterflies will be released into the vivarium after emerging. Other pupae hang in a case in the vivarium, giving visitors a firsthand look as adult butterflies emerge from chrysalises and fly away only hours after adjusting to their new surroundings.
Other butterflies include monarchs, zebra longwings and paper kites, and in the past, I've spotted a clearwing which literally has a clear wing.
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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