We love butterflies. Symbols of a metamorphosis, objects of exquisite beauty. Poets for centuries have been extoling their grace, delicacy and loveliness— and for good reason. Their combination of flight and colorful brilliance makes us smile. National Butterfly Day is March 14 and we’ve assembled a few Southern destinations to view and honor the mighty butterfly.
Panhandle Butterfly House & Nature Center, Milton, Fla.
More than 160 butterfly species may be found in Florida, while an additional 200 species migrate through the state annually. The Panhandle Butterfly House, which recently moved from Navarre Beach to its expanded location in Milton, showcases this colorful insect in its vivarium. In addition, they offer a mounted butterfly exhibit and educate visitors on how to encourage butterflies to their own backyards.
The Butterfly Palace in Branson, Mo.
More than 1,000 live butterflies call the Butterfly Palace home, many imported from around the world. Visitors may step inside the large dome that offers a rainforest-style atmosphere and be surrounded by their beauty, some of which will come and light upon your shoulder. Guests are encouraged to dress in red, a popular color for 40 to 60 butterfly species, and everyone receives a red silk flower with a nectar tube as they enter the aviary. Guests are issued wrist bands that are good for three days, so butterfly lovers can visit again and again.
Lost River Cave, Bowling Green, Ky.
This unique cave is toured via boat, naturally underground, but the attraction also features the Charlie Miller Butterfly Habitat that’s open from Memorial Day through Labor Day. This indoor garden is filled with native nectar plants and is home to butterfly species like monarchs, painted ladies and giant swallowtails.
Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservancy
Hundreds of free-flying butterflies and exotic birds live inside the glass-domed tropical habitat complete with flowering plants and waterfalls, allowing visitors to enjoy them up close and personal. This Key West attraction has been so popular with visitors and residents alike it’s been named the “Best Place to Take the Kids” and “Best Attraction in Key West.”
Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
Dolly Parton loves butterflies, been on record stating how she admires their gentle nature and beauty. It’s appropriate then that she would use butterflies in her Dollywood theme park in the heart of the Smoky Mountains. A butterfly appears as the “W” in the Dollywood logo, and the insect is incorporated into the décor of Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa, in everything from the weave of the hallway carpet to ornaments on the property’s Christmas tree each holiday season.
Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge, Gulf Shores, Ala.
Every fall, butterflies such as the common buckeye, Gulf fritillary and viceroy descend upon coastal Alabama as they migrate from Canada down the East Coast and to the Gulf of Mexico. By mid-October, hundreds of brilliant monarchs can be spotted along Pine Beach Trail, where they stop for a snack before they continue their flight to Mexico.
Closer to Home
The 440-foot Elevated Wetlands Boardwalk in Lockport allows visitors to trek through a swamp to enjoy local flora and fauna and, of course, countless species of birds and butterflies from March to May and August to early October. The boardwalk is open daily from dawn to dusk.
The 400-acre Northlake Nature Center on Bayou Castine in Mandeville allows visitors to hike along forest and wetlands trails where they may witness reptiles and amphibians, interesting plants, mammals and numerous species of birds and butterflies.
