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Butterfly
Viewing
Conservatories, migration and your own backyard
©
Outdoor Adventure Canada
 Butterfly
viewing is becoming a popular activity in Canada. From backyards
to butterfly conservatories there are many ways to enjoy the unique
creatures. It always amazes me to see the metamorphosis of a caterpillar
into a magnificent winged creature.
Point Pelee
in Ontario is a great place to view the Monarch butterfly migration
that takes place twice a year. This migration is a mystery to
scientists since 1975 when a motorcyclist discovered nesting sites
in Mexico. It is an amazing to see millions of butterflies during
the migrations.
You can easily
attract butterflies to your backyard. One way is to plant flowers
that butterflies are attracted to such as Cosmos, Coneflower,
Coreopsis and Bachelor Buttons. Another is by using a butterfly
feeder. This is much like a hummingbird feeder only it is much
smaller. Instead of the red floral shapes the feeder has string
wicks which mimic the stamens of flowers. The liquid inside should
be a mixture of 20 parts water to 1 part sugar. Do not make the
mixture stronger or it will kill the butterflies. The feeder also
has spots to place fruit. Butterflies prefer overripe fruits such
as bananas.
Butterfly
conservatories are quite fun. Recently I took my ten year old
great-niece to the Wings of Paradise Butterfly Conservatory in
Cambridge, Ontario. The Wings of Paradise facility is about 10,000
square feet of tropical garden and houses over 2000 butterflies.
The butterflies fly about and will sometimes land on you. There
are about 40 species in the conservatory from countries such as
Costa Rica and Malaysia. There is also an area where you can view
the final stages of metamorphosis. There are two other exhibits;
The Flying Jewels and The Incredible World of Bugs. You can contact
Wings of Paradise through their web site at www.wingsofparadise.com
 There
are several other conservatories in Canada. They are…
The
Montreal Botanical Gardens
Niagara
Parks Butterfly Conservatory
Victoria
Butterfly Gardens
Butterfly
World
Crystal Garden Butterfly
House
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please view the archives.
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