We’re good Canadians. Snow and cold doesn’t keep us indoors, but rain in January just doesn’t cut it, so we found an indoor diversion today – the Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory.
A few years ago, we visited the Butterfly Museum in Niagara so were prepared for the hot, humid environment and dressed accordingly.
Of course, it’s a butterfly conservatory and there were plenty of them to see. My favourite was the iridescent blue one that moves so fast you can’t get a picture until they land, then the radiant colour goes into hiding as they immediately fold up their wings.
That’s probably why there’s a display of preserved ones in the lobby…
Here is a selection of others…
These two fools are fighting over the tip of a snowflake, and a fake one at that!
There are plenty of opportunities for education, including the incubator where a staff member explained the process of transformation from caterpillar to butterfly.
These guys have just been “born” or, in more proper terms emerged from their chrysalis, and are hanging out waiting for their wings to dry before joining the others in their tropical environment.
Also interesting to note, some emerge with damaged wings, will never be able to fly so will die a natural death from starvation. Brutal, but real.
The conservatory isn’t very large but it is jam-packed full of discovery. And what’s down there? A pond – with fish, a turtle, a waterfall, and what looks like a butterfly that floats!
The plants and flowers are stunning and offer the perfect habitat for the butterflies and quite the assortment of birds, too.
And let’s not forget the odd snail or two…
Did I mention how hot it was in there?
After a couple of hours, and a significant loss of body fluids through evaporation, we were struck with the reality of how quickly the weather can change in January. We may have entered the building at 6 degrees with rain, but left it at -5 degrees with gusting and blowing snow and freezing rain.
That’s winter in Canada, folks.
love the cobalt blue butterflies.