THE SHILOFF FAMILY BUTTERFLY HOUSE
As you leave the bunnies in The Field at the end of the Orange Path, you will find yourself at a separately ticketed attraction, a special permanent exhibit...the Shiloff Family Foundation Butterfly House.
We hope you have been in one. Adults love them just as much as kids.
It's a chance to experience these gentle, lovely creatures up close and personal, as they flit around and land on you, and before you can catch your breath...fly on.
POLLINATOR EDUCATION
Birds, bats, butterflies, some moths, flies, mosquitoes, beetles, wasps, hummingbirds and most importantly…bees… are all pollinators that keep plants productive.
Pollinators visit flowers to drink nectar or feed off pollen. They carry pollen grains on their bodies as they move from spot to spot.
Most North American bees only forage over a distance of a few hundred yards. Four season gardens that bloom from spring to fall give pollinators a location they can rely on for food.
Many pollinator populations are shrinking due to the loss of their feeding and nesting habitats. Most people are not aware that we are trucking bees back and forth across the country to pollinate crops. We are excited to share critical pollinator information with our visitors, school tour groups, and organizational tours.
ABOUT THE BUTTERFLY HOUSE
The almost 8000 square foot Butterfly House nestles into the curve of the 12 foot tall labyrinth walls at the end of The Field and beginning of The Sculpture Garden. The roofline of the glass conservatory rises above the 12' walls making it a prominent location that can be seen from the entrance to the garden.
The Shiloff Family Butterfly House presents to the inner garden path as a dramatic greenhouse with high glass sidewalls to allow the maximum amount of light inside the exhibit. Natural light, large trees, native plants, rocks, and water elements are all critical components needed to simulate a natural habitat and important to stimulate natural butterfly behaviors.
As you enter you will see a Chrysalis Emergence Chamber and Viewing Window revealing the full magical metamorphosis from egg to caterpillar to pupa (or chrysalis) to butterfly.
As you follow the winding path you will experience the diversity of plant life (nectar plants and host plants) that support these peaceful lovely creatures flitting around and landing on you.
We are so grateful to the Shiloff Family for helping us make this important educational tool available to young and old alike. Nothing connects us to nature like the fragile beauty of a butterfly!
Now follow the mosaic butterflies to the beginning of the Yellow Path!
