The Butterfly House

Butterflies are a wonderful part of the animal kingdom. I have always been fascinated by their life cycle and the many different species of butterflies that inhabit the world. However, It was not until I started volunteering at The Butterfly House two years ago that I really started to gain a perspective into the fascinating world of butterflies.

The Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House, located just west of St. Louis, was first opened in late 1998. In 2001, it merged with the Missouri Botanical Garden ( a world-renowned botanical garden located in St. Louis).

The mission of The Butterfly House as stated in their pamphlet is:

The Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House and its governing organizations's

mission is to foster a better understanding and increased awareness

of our natural world. This facility presents an unparalleled

opportunity to impact science and natural history education in our

communities and the world, and to promote environmental

stewardship through examples.

In this lens I will use my photographs to take you on a tour of The Butterfly House

Butterflies are such interesting insects. In this book you will learn more about butterflies all over the world.

The Butterfly House is open all year long. I find it particularly beautiful in the winter when it is covered in snow. In this photo, my granddaughters, Rachel and Ella are posing by the butterfly statue.

"Lopatapillar" a giant 30-foot long caterpillar sculpture greets guest just to the left of the entrance. Children love to climb on the sculpture and it is a great place for a photo opportunity.

Near the entrance to the butterfly conservatory you will find a glass case showing butterflies around the world. This glass display case allows visitors to view both sides of the butterflies. It is always interesting to see people walk around the case and try to locate butterflies from various areas.

In back of the butterfly case you can see a display of various types of spiders. They are always a hit with young boys and some girls too. Others cling to their parents when they see the spiders. There are posters telling about the different species of insects, spiders and acranods.

Inside the conservatory at The Butterfly House are winding paths that lead you through lush tropical plants and a pretty waterfall setting. There are benches to stop and enjoy the view and of course there are butterflies everywhere you look!

butterflies from around the world

The Butterfly House has between 1500 and 2000 butterflies at any given time. There are 60-80 different species of tropical butterflies at the Chesterfield,Mo butterfly house.

All of the butterflies are tropical butterflies and are shipped to The Butterfly House in the chrysalis stage from butterfly farms in tropical places such as Costa Rica and Malaysia.

The blue Morpho butterfly is a common sight at The Butterfly House. They are particularly plentiful during the month of March when March Morpho Mania is celebrated by having a lots of Blue Morpho butterflies.

Here you see some butterflies feasting on cantaloupe. You might also see butterflies enjoying various melons and bananas.

Papilio memnon

This striking butterfly is a blue/black color and has a large wing span that can measure up to 135mmm. It is found in South-Asia and belongs to the Swallowtail family.

largest moth in the world

The Atlas Moth can often be seen in The Butterfly House. It is native to Southeast Asia and the Philippines. This moth is nocturnal so turning the day you may see it perched on a tree such as the one in this photo.

In this photo you see a butterfly called the Paper Kite. This butterfly is a relative to the Monarch butterflies that are popular in much of the USA.

This butterflies outside wings are camouflaged to look like an owl. This helps to keep predators away.

The Butterfly House is always looking for volunteers. It is a wonderful volunteer job. I work one day a week for 3 hours and spend my time greeting guests, and talking about butterflies. Our job is to make sure that everyone who visits the Butterfly House has a good experience. In this photo one of the volunteers is working in the flight house and a PaperKite butterfly lands on her arm.

The back of The Butterfly House has a wonderful garden setting that is planted to attract local butterflies. There are paths winding throughout the garden and benches where you can stop to rest. Near the back is a gazebo area. It is a wonderful way to spend an afternoon wondering around the beautiful flowers and watching the butterflies.

There is also an area with a tent cover that can be rented for wedding receptions and parties. What a great place to have a celebration!

We had a beautiful snow at Christmas this year and I took my granddaughters to see The Butterfly House. This photo show Rachel in the back garden.

The Butterfly House is located in Faust Park about 30 minutes west of downtown St. Louis. Take 1-64/40 west to Clarkson road/Olive boulevard exit. Turn right onto Olive Boulevard. Two miles ahead, Faust park is on the left.