Hundreds of species of exotic butterflies and insects call the Butterfly Center home. Discover a few of them here!
Our Residents
The gorgeous iridescent blue of the Blue Morpho butterfly’s upper wing surface is not actually a color - it is…
Several plants in tropical forests form mutually beneficial partnerships with ants. These relationships are called symbioses or mutualisms. The most…
Praying mantises (or mantids, Order: Mantodea) are a diverse group of carnivorous insects. They are found all over the world,…
This is the national tree of Trinidad, Warszewiczia coccinea, and it is found throughout the Neotropics. In the Butterfly Center,…
The Antilles pinktoe tarantula, Avicularia versicolor, is native to the Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe. These arboreal (tree-dwelling) spiders…
Giant katydids, Macrolyristes corporalis, may look a bit frightening, but they are very gentle! This is the largest species of…
The Owl Butterflies, genus: Caligo, from the rainforests of Central and South America are named for the dramatic eyespots on…
These harmless arachnids, Mastigoproctus giganteus, get their name from the long, whip-like sensory organ that extends from the tip of…
These very large beetles, Chalcosoma atlas, come from Tropical Asia, where they are often kept as pets. Males are usually…
The longwing butterflies, several species of Heliconius, are all brightly patterned in patches and stripes of yellow, red, orange, white,…
This large colorful grasshopper, Romalea guttata, is native to the Southeastern United States and may be found right here in…
Hissing cockroaches, Gromphadorhina portentosa, are endemic to the island of Madagascar. This is the only place on earth that they…
This swallowtail, Papilio thoas, is closely related to our native giant swallowtail, and the two species are almost impossible to…
In its native South America, this attractive little butterfly, Anartia amathea, is common in open, weedy areas. Here in the…
The orchids make up a huge family of plants found throughout the world, but most species grow in tropical rainforests…
Once in a while we are fortunate to receive a shipment of these spectacular insects, the largest moths in the…
Some tropical plants produce flowers (and then fruits) from old woody tissue, such as the trunk and established branches, rather…
A relative of the longwing butterflies, the Julia, Dryas iulia, also has elongated wings and a slow, fluttering flight. You…
This butterfly from southeast Asia, Parthenos sylvia, comes in two color forms: the blue form, native to Malaysia, and the…
Gingers (family Zingiberaceae), are famous for the fragrance of their flowers, leaves, stems, and even roots. The spices ginger and…
Bromeliads are another largely tropical plant family with a devoted following among horticulturists. You are probably familiar with two species…
This species, Idea leuconoe, from tropical southeast Asia, is a close cousin to our own familiar monarch butterfly. Its distinctive…
This dramatically colored, swift-flying butterfly, Graphium agamemnon, is not common in the Center, but its unusual iridescent green spots are…
The Aracae, a family of large-leaved, tropical understory herbs,climbers and epiphytes, is the source of many common house plants, such…
Both prayer plants (marantas) and heliconias (parrot-flowers) are tropical understory herbs with very large leaves, related to bananas, gingers, bird-of-paradise,…
As adults, these prickly, leafy looking walking sticks, Extatosoma tiaratum, look amazingly like a brown, dried-up leaf. Females randonly drop…
The Blue Wave, Myscelia cyaniris, is named for the bands of iridescent blue across the upper wing surface. The underside…