Visiting a Butterfly Garden

My son and I visited the Butterfly Garden exhibit at the Museum of Science in Boston. He missed his third grade school field trip because he had Strep Throat the last week of school so I promised him a make up trip as part of his Camp Mom week. I used to take his older sisters to the Museum of Science frequently when they were younger but I realize now that we haven’t visited here in a few years. Too bad. It’s one of the best museums for kids in Boston and because it’s huge, it never feels overwhelmingly crowded the way The Boston Children’s Museum can.

This wasn’t my son’s favorite stop — he much preferred The Sea Monster 3D movie and the dinosaur exhibit — but I always find butterfly gardens to be magical.

The Butterfly Garden tickets are extra … would you buy tickets to visit a Butterfly Exhibit in addition to the museum entrance fee?

I’ve tried to identify the butterflies we saw but it wasn’t easy. Please help me out if you see an error or know which butterfly it is. I was feeling very Calpurnia Tate trying to ID them. Speaking of Calpurnia Tate, I’ll be posting on our Top 10 Butterfly Books for Kids tomorrow. As with most of my book lists, it’s picture book fiction or biography — no non fiction though I’d love your suggestions for those!

 Great Yellow Mormon, Papilio lowii

The Great Mormon (Papilio memnon) is a large butterfly that belongs to the swallowtail family and is found in southern Asia.

The Atlas Moth Crysalis, Attacus Atlas

The Atlas moth (Attacus atlas) is a large saturniid moth found in the tropical and subtropical forests of Southeast Asia, and common across the Malay archipelago.

Atlas moths are considered the largest moths in the world in terms of total wing surface area [upwards of c. 400 cm² (62 sq in)]. Their wingspans are also amongst the largest, reaching over 25 cm (10 in). Females are appreciably larger and heavier.

Blue Morpho Butterfly

When the Blue Morpho Butterfly opens its wings, you can see the beautiful blue wings. Closed up, it looks like the eyes of an owl staring out; great protection from birds who might want to eat it. My son informs me of this fact though I’m not sure how he’s learned this.

A Morpho butterfly may be one of over 29 accepted species and 147 accepted subspecies of butterflies in the genus Morpho. They areNeotropical butterflies found mostly in South America as well as Mexico and Central America.

image from London Moore Beauty

Ruby-Spotted Swallowtail,  Papilo anchisiades

The Ruby-spotted Swallowtail or Red-spotted Swallowtail (Papilio anchisiades) is a butterfly of the Papilionidae family. It is found from southern Texas south to Argentina. A rare stray can be found up to Kansas, south-eastern Arizona and western Texas.

Common Parides, Parides iphidamus

Parides iphidamas is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae. It is commonly known as the Iphidamas Cattleheart and theTransandean Cattleheart.

I have no idea what these butterflies are below.

For a more amazing video on pollination which includes both insects and birds, check The Beauty of Pollination out!

All butterfly factoids are from Wikipedia.

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My books:

 Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me

Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me

Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World

• Junior Library Guild Gold selection
• Massachusetts Book Award Long List
• Selected as one of 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023 by dPICTUS and featured at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair
• Starred review from School Library Journal
• Chicago Library’s Best of the Best
• 2023 INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist
• Green Earth Book Award Long List
• Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids

 Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me

Amazon / Scholastic / Signed or Inscribed by Me