Different species of butterflies are found all over the world, but at the Butterfly Rainforest in the Florida Museum of Natural History on UF’s campus, they all come together.
The Butterfly Rainforest has called the museum home for the past 10 years, and until May 14, it will feature a special section called Butterfly Life Cycles.
Ingrith Martinez, a Butterfly Rainforest production assistant and lab technician, said the program aims to educate people about the life cycles of butterflies and moths.
“We want to make sure that everybody realizes that butterflies aren’t just butterflies,” Martinez said. “They come in fabulous caterpillars, and the pupae can be gorgeous –— some of them look like they’re dipped in molten gold.”
Museum visitors are encouraged to watch butterflies emerge from chrysalises that have been shipped to the museum from around the world, she said.
Lori Gage, a Butterfly Rainforest specialist, said butterflies have four stages of development, but the exhibit only features the insects in their last two life stages — the pupa and then the adult.
Meagan King, a 22-year-old UF public relations senior, said she enjoys visiting the Butterfly Rainforest.
“I love it,” King said. “It’s a really cool thing to have so close to campus and a great thing to do with parents or siblings in the afternoon.”
[A version of this story ran on page 5 on 4/11/2014 under the headline "Florida Museum’s Butterfly Rainforest gets new exhibit"]
A group of butterflies eats bananas at the Butterfly Rainforest at the Florida Museum of Natural History.
