At most museum exhibits, visitors look at the displays through a pane of glass, or stand behind a velvet rope. There is a strict no touching rule. Try telling that to a butterfly, though.
“Often, butterflies land on people. This is a rare chance to see them feeding, basking and in courtship displays,” says Hazel Davies. She is the Director of Living Exhibits at the American Museum of Natural History and is excited about an upcoming exhibition at the famous museum on the Upper West Side.
The exhibit, called the Butterfly Conservatory: Tropical Butterflies Alive in Winter, will open on December 10th and run through May 29th, 2017. It only closes for Christmas day. Otherwise, visitors to the museum will be able to walk along a path with butterflies fluttering around them. It feels like a lush tropical island – warm and humid, with live plants and flowers all around the path. Museum staff will often feed some of the butterflies with fruit, allowing visitors a chance to observe them up close.
The exhibit will feature 70-80 species of butterfly from Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas. Some of the more well-known species are represented, including the monarch, painted lady, and red admiral butterflies, as well as more exotic species such as the blue morpho and owl butterflies from Central America. Davies advises to keep an eye out for the clearwing butterfly, which doesn’t have scales on its wings so they appear transparent, and the green birdwing from Australia, which is the largest species they have at the exhibit. “One of my favorites is the paper kite from southeast Asia. It is a striking black and white, with a beautiful lazy flight pattern,” says Davies.
This is the 19th year of the butterfly conservatory, and it remains as popular as ever. Davies believes it is due to the unique qualities of the featured insect itself. “Butterflies are ambassador insects; they are colorful and beautiful and can’t hurt you. People really like them, unlike many other groups of insects.” Despite their small stature and frail appearance, Davies assures that there is more to the insect than meets the eye. “They are amazing: they look so fragile but they can travel long distances, some can smell pheromones over a mile away to find their mates, and females have taste buds on their feet!”
The exhibit appeals to everyone: kids and adults, families and groups of friends. Davies believes the butterflies have something that can attract anyone’s attention, whether it’s a small child amazed by the bright colors and fluttering motion, to teens and adults who watch in awe as the butterfly unrolls its proboscis to sip juice.
Since visitors interact directly with the butterflies, no visit to the conservatory is the same. In a world filled with touch screens and technology, this is a complete immersion in a different environment. Davies appreciates that difference, and loves that people learn something new each time they visit. “It is the type of exhibit you can visit over and over and notice something different each time.”
You can find out more about the Butterfly Conservatory at amnh.org
