Starting from May 23, the Butterfly Garden—located next to the Palm House—will be open to visitors, including during the International Children’s Day weekend. On the opening day (Friday the 23rd), at 10:00, 11:00, and 12:00, our keepers will offer engaging presentations introducing the butterflies and explaining how they are cared for. This program is part of our “Be There!” public events, offered as a “Be There Extra.”
The Butterfly Garden covers 240 square meters, with an air volume of 1,200 cubic meters. Here, hundreds of butterflies from 22 tropical species can be admired up close. Visitors can walk through the space and move freely among the butterflies.
The initial stock includes more than 600 individuals, all of which arrived in pupal form from a butterfly farm in Costa Rica. After arrival, the pupae were placed in a specially designed glass cabinet at the center of the garden—called the pupation cabinet—where visitors can watch the butterflies emerge. Our keepers regularly open the cabinet doors so the newly emerged butterflies can fly out.
Visitors can observe the butterflies in flight, resting, or feeding. Their food mainly consists of three types: fruit slices like bananas and oranges placed in trays, artificial nectar provided in small vials, and nectar-producing plants in the garden itself. These include Lantana sp. and Pentas sp., which are especially attractive to butterflies. Lantana is even native to parts of Central and South America, where many of the displayed species naturally occur—so it offers a familiar taste to our butterflies.
Since visitors share the same space with these delicate animals, we kindly ask everyone to be mindful. Please watch your step and enjoy the butterflies by looking, not touching. This way, we can all continue to enjoy their presence for a long time.
