BOISE, Idaho — Do you or someone you know love butterflies? Zoo Boise has opened its yearly exhibit "Butterflies in Bloom" sponsored by KTVB and Simplot. This interactive exhibit not only teaches people about the winged wonders, it also allows for people to immerse themselves in the experience said the General Curator at Zoo Boise, Harry Peachey.
"This is actually a truly immersive exhibit, you get to come in here and share space with these lovely butterflies," he said. "Another thing about this exhibit that we think is important is what we try to do with all of our exhibits and displays here in Zoo Boise, there is a direct connection between this exhibit and field conservation in the wild."
Peachey said the zoo acquires butterfly pupa from a butterfly farm in Costa Rica and that farm actually uses all of that revenue to support butterfly conservation projects in Costa Rica.
The variety of butterflies in the exhibit changes from week to week.
"We are dependent on shipments that they send us. We actually put pupa in a room there and allow them to hatch. So, it's gonna vary," Peachey said.
For many people, he said they love it when a butterfly lands on them. People are given rules before entering, so they know how to react.
"You're actually sharing space with the butterflies. And as you might be able to see, it's not unusual for a butterfly to come and land on a guest," Peachey said. "We also have feeding stations throughout the exhibit where the butterflies will land, you can get very close, you can get a great photograph of any one of a number of these beautiful species of butterflies that we have here."
One of the points of the exhibit is to educate people about the importance the butterfly plays in the ecosystem.
"Butterflies are extremely important," he said. "They play a very dramatic role in most ecosystems. I'm sure people here in North America are familiar with monarch butterflies, and how those populations have gone up and down dramatically over the last few years. They are incredible in that they undertake this massive migration basically from the East Coast to Mexico every year. And along the way, they make important contributions to ecosystems that they encounter."
The length of the exhibit can vary but it will at least stay open until Labor Day weekend.
People can get more information here.
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