Poetry In Motion

Beauty takes flight inside Butterfly Palace

On any particular day there are from 1,500 to 2,000 butterflies out for viewing at the Butterfly Palace in Branson.
On any particular day there are from 1,500 to 2,000 butterflies out for viewing at the Butterfly Palace in Branson.

Serenity and beauty go hand in hand at The Butterfly Palace, a Branson attraction that looks down from a ridge on the west end of the Highway 76 strip. This unique attraction offers visitors a chance to not only learn about butterflies but to inhabit the same space for a little while.

photo

Courtesy Kat Robinson

Young adventurers can don hats and grab magnifying glasses to study the residents of the Butterfly Palace.

The cavernous aviary is housed in a gorgeous white edifice topped with a metallic dome, set high into the hillside. Within, a long curving ramp along the outside wall connects the upper and lower stories, making the entire facility accessible to all. The heart of The Butterfly Palace is on the second story, where translucent panels allow the light of day to filter into a space filled with butterfly-friendly plants and habitat.

FAQ

Butterfly Palace

WHEN — 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, except Thanksgiving and Christmas Day

WHERE — 4106 W. 76 Country Blvd. in Branson

COST — $9.95-$18.95 for three day pass; season passes, $20-$30

INFO — 417-332-2231 or TheButterflyPalace.…

Brittney Smith is the general manager at The Butterfly Palace. She notes every day is a good day to come visit the attraction.

"We have two scheduled releases per day, so people can plan to be on hand for a butterfly release. Every day those times are different. It depends on how often the butterflies emerge -- once an hour to once every three hours."

The Butterfly Palace has permits for more than 200 different types of butterflies. Chrysalises from several rainforest areas around the globe are brought in twice a week with 500 pupae in each shipment. Some 700 to 1,000 butterflies are hatched from pupae each week -- and released twice a day. On any particular day there are from 1,500 to 2,000 butterflies out for viewing, along with some resident birds and a large number of blooming flowers.

For those who plan to visit, Smith recommends wearing bright colors. "Butterflies like red, bright pink, orange and yellow. It is very hot in there, so dressing light is good. We suggest visiting between 10 in the morning and 3 in the afternoon. Butterflies are solar insects, so when the sun is out, that's when they are out."

But the butterflies aren't just an attraction. They're helping an economy. Butterfly farming has become a major source of income for local families in rainforest areas -- providing an alternative to logging. The attraction's website lists the farms that provide butterflies for viewing and shares facts about them. A portion of every admission goes to purchasing more pupae from those farms.

The butterflies within the lepidopterarium are native to Costa Rica, Africa, the Philippines and other rainforested countries -- which means they're not the same butterflies you'll see in your back yard. Strong efforts are made to keep the butterflies within the facility, including a check of all individuals as they leave the area, three double-door passages to keep flying insects from leaving the section, and another layer outside the doors.

The butterflies at Butterfly Palace in Branson are fed on rotting fruits and orange Gatorade. Once they emerge from their pupae and are released into the butterfly aviary, there's nothing in between visitors and the beautiful residents. Visitors are encouraged to look but don't touch and to bring their cameras. It's not uncommon for butterflies to land on guests.

Benches and seats are located around the interior. Children are invited to get into the spirit of adventure and don safari hats. Binoculars and magnifying glasses are also available to use for free. There's also an overhead bridge, added recently, inspired by the rainforest farms where the butterflies are collected.

"The owner and I traveled to one of our butterfly farms in Costa Rica to see how the people there work to save the rainforest," Smith shares. "We noticed that all over Costa Rica there were bridges -- that's how scientists would study the insects so they didn't have to disturb the insects. We thought what a cool thing we could do to add to our rainforest adventure and tell that part of the story."

There are more things to enjoy at the attraction besides the butterflies. Just outside the aviary, an obstacle course representing the Banyan trees native to Costa Rica has been created with cording, paths and 3D interactive software that imitates a lily pond. A large collection of butterfly stamps is on display in the upper atrium. Downstairs in the Living Rainforest Science Adventure, you'll find geckos, chameleons and frogs on display in their own herpetariums. There's also a great mirror maze (popular with kids) where you can imagine getting lost in the rainforest yourself.

Along the ramps leading to the upper atrium, you'll find a display of unusual art by the artist Kjell Sandved, who spent years traveling the world, searching out and photographing butterflies with naturally occurring numbers and letters on their wings. It took him 25 years and visits to 30 countries to complete the collection, but every number and every letter of the alphabet is represented.

Outside the facility, The Butterfly Palace is hoping to help draw native butterflies to the region with large plantings of milkweed, which draws monarch butterflies.

"The city of Branson recently started an initiative to bring monarchs back to the Ozarks, so they reached out to us," Smith continues. "Though we don't carry monarchs, we talked with the USDA and they said they'd be OK to create a monarch garden. We planted milkweed around the building, and we offer resources to our guests on how to build their own monarch gardens at home."

The Butterfly Palace is a great place for families to visit, especially those with young children. Smith says the attraction's admission policy and the way the whole building is set up works great with those visitors. "Younger kids are our demographic. We do allow strollers throughout the building. We are pretty accessible for families. We do have the three-day wristband -- good for the day you purchase it and two days after."

Because The Butterfly Palace is completely enclosed, it's a great stop for rainy days and when it's really hot outside. Butterfly-related gifts, toys, stationary and jewelry are for sale in the gift shop.

Kat Robinson is an Arkansas food historian and travel writer based in Little Rock. Follow her adventures at TieDyeTravels.com and watch What's Up! for more Branson stories this summer.

NAN What's Up on 05/26/2017

Upcoming Events