Life of a Butterfly - Butterfly projects and attractions

Life Cycle of a Butterfly and Moth

Butterfly Projects and Attractions

Try some of the projects and attractions listed below to grow live butterflies, to witness the butterfly life cycle or just simply watch and admire the world of butterflies in action.

Visit a Butterfly House

A butterfly house means getting up close to butterflies. Butterfly houses offer a living display of butterflies usually in a conservatory or atrium that is open to the public. A place to see the wonder, beauty and mabybe even the miracle of metamorphosis.

Build a Butterfly Garden

Would you like to build your own butterfly garden? Turn your garden into a butterfly paradise by doing some of the following suggestions:

Butterflies need warmth, shelter and nectar. There are several things you can do to attract butterflies into your garden. Different species of butterflies prefer different types of nectar. The food plants that you choose will determine the types of butterflies that will come to your garden. Leave dandelions to grow in your garden as butterflies like dandelions. Plant wild flowers for butterflies to visit.

Sunny spots are good for the plants as well as butterflies. Leave a bowl filled with a sweet liquid for butterflies.

Trees and shrubs provide butterflies with the shelter they need.

Rearing Butterflies

There are several different types of butterfly kits on the market. These make great projects for children to enjoy. It is also a great school project for the whole class to participate in. The children will be so excited on school arrival - to see what has happened overnight, and they will be sure to look in the habitat before going home (to see what has developed during the day).

From Live Butterfly Pavilion Kits, Live Butterfly Garden Kits, Butterfly Culture Kits, Butterfly Houses to Butterfly Feeders. These kits can be purchase any time of the year. With these kits you can raise butterflies and then release then into the wild.

The butterfly habitats are a see-through mesh with a zipped area for easy of care and feeding. You get butterfly larvae and specal food for feeding. The habitat is re-usable and therefore you can just re-order the refill kits.

Visit a Butterfly Farm

What and unforgettable experience. Watch as butterflies take their first flight from their chrysalis in a tropical garden.

Butterfly Farms are usually enclosed within a large meshed enclosure shaped like a large greenhouse and are kept hot and humid. These farms start with the plants that the different species of caterpillars will feed from (which is called the host plant). The host plant is also the plant that the butterflies will need to survive in the butterfly farm.

There are hundreds of exotic butterflies flying and flapping gently from plant to plant in these meshed enclosures. Their life cycle goes from egg to caterpillar (larvae) to chrysalis to butterfly (adult). The female butterlies lay their eggs on the host plants. The eggs are then collected by the farmers and are carefully placed in containers that are protected from their predators. Once the caterpillars are hatched, they are then placed on potted plants. These caterpillars are then fed from their host plants until they turn into chrysalises. Once a chrysalis has formed, the farmers will collect them and ship them out to their buyers.

Live Butterfly Releases

Wedding Butterfly Release - You have heard of releasing live Doves at weddings, how about adding beauty by releasing live butterflies at your wedding. This is a truly amazing experience to witness. As an alternative (or as well as) to throwing rice, bird seeds or confetti, think of releasing live butterflies to add those extra special touches of vibrant colors, the freedom of flight and the new life they are about to begin (as well as the bride and groom). All your guests will be amazed and hold a special memory of your wedding day.

Baby Christening - Release live butterflies to celebrate the new life at a baby Christening. If you as a Godparent are having a hard time deciding what present to give to your Godchild, the releasing of live butterflies could make a wonderful present from a Godmother or a Godfater.

Funeral - Releasing live butterflies at a funeral can give family members and guests a very peaceful experience. Saying goodbye is never easy but by releasing the butterflies, they are free to live.

Butterfly Face Painting

Whether you are out for dinner or visiting an attraction (zoo, fair, carnival) with your children, most of these types of events offer face painting for the little ones. Most children enjoy having their face painted. The next time your child askes to have his/her face painted, check to see if the painter can design a beautifully colored butterfly on your childs' face.