Butterfly World is located in Coconut Creek, Florida, in Tradewinds Park. It debuted in 1988 and is the world’s largest butterfly park, as well as the Western Hemisphere’s first of its kind. Around 20,000 live butterflies are housed at the facility.
History
Ronald Boender began raising butterflies and their food plants at his Florida home after retiring from a job as an electrical engineer. In 1984, he founded MetaScience to assist zoos and colleges in supplying farmed butterflies. He decided to open his own facility in Florida after visiting England in 1985 and meeting Clive Farrell (creator and proprietor of the London Butterfly House). Boender and Ferrell formed a partnership and began developing the facility, which would serve as a public attraction as well as a research center and butterfly farm.
On March 28, 1988, Butterfly World debuted. Since then, it has grown to include the country’s biggest free-flying hummingbird aviary, a Lorikeet Encounter, and an aviculture research facility.
Exhibits
The Paradise Adventure Aviary consists of fountains and ponds as well as butterflies. The Hanging Garden & Butterfly Emerging Area features display cases with pupa and emerging butterflies suspended from the ceiling. A waterfall, tropical flora, free-flying birds, and butterflies are featured in the Tropical RainForest Aviary.
Grace Gardens is a tropical flowering plant botanical garden located outdoors. The Secret Garden of the Wings of the World is home to one of the world’s biggest collections of blooming Passion Flower vines. Hummingbirds and other birds may be observed in the Jewels of the Sky Aviary.
Mounted specimens of beetles, scorpions, butterflies, moths, and other insects are on display in the Museum/Insectarium. Live insects such as water bugs, spiders, wasps, walking sticks, and mantids are on show at the Bug Zoo.
Visitors may tour the laboratory where the butterflies are raised and observe the many phases of development, including eggs, caterpillars, and pupae.
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