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The Butterfly Farm

By Carol M. Bareuther, RD

Step into a wondrous world of winged creatures at the Butterfly Farm. "World" is definitely the right word, since the more than 1,000 brilliantly colored butterflies that flutter within the farm's 10,000-square-foot, mesh-enclosed, walk-through garden represent species from every continent.

Butterflies, classified as insects, have four distinct life stages — egg, caterpillar, chrysalis or pupa, and butterfly. It's each of these stages you'll see and learn about on a 25-minute guided tour.

Tony Cox, the biologist who with wife Lori built the farm and opened it in 2007, led us first to a trio of breeding boxes. These looked like miniature pup tents, albeit with pinpoint-sized eggs and plump caterpillars clinging to the leafy branches inside.

"Caterpillars are nonstop eating machines," says Cox. "Picture that they grow from the size of a human baby to the dimension of two bull elephants in a week."

Caterpillars, when fully grown, transform themselves into a chrysalis or pupa. Inside this unassuming, inch-or-less size bundle that looks as dull as a bat hanging upside down at dusk, a true reincarnation occurs.

"Imagine your daughter walking into a closet for two weeks and walking back out again as a puppy," says Cox, with a wink to our 13-year-old. "That's what happens inside the chrysalis. The caterpillar goes in, all the genetic muck reassembles itself as an entirely new creature, a butterfly. This is the process of reincarnation that has fascinated mankind for ages."

Butterflies' lives are dedicated to breeding. It's important to watch where you step along the garden's sandy pathways, because it's easy to stumble on a mating pair. Males will mate many times. Females only once, laying up to 300 eggs before they die. With eggs laid, the cycle of life for the butterfly starts all over again.

Visit the Butterfly Farm in the morning if you want to see the most activity. This is when newly emerged butterflies take their first flight. Photographers will want to stop by in the afternoon when the butterflies are more sluggish and therefore easier to catch on film.

Located a short walk from the Cruise Ship Dock in Havensight, St. Thomas. Open 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Tours are given continuously, with the last one starting at 4:30 p.m. Admission is $15 for adults, $9 for children. Children under 3 enter free.

THE BUTTERFLY FARM
Havensight Dock
340-715-3366 / www.thebutterflyfarm.com
WOW, it's magic! The Butterfly Farm is an unforgettable encounter with the beauty and wonder of nature. You will enter a lush tropical garden teeming with butterflies from around the world. Tour guides will help you observe the extraordinary life cycle of these fascinating creatures as they change from eggs to caterpillars and then transform themselves into spectacular butterflies through the miracle of metamorphosis. You will be surprised and entertained by their amazingly festive lifestyle.

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