Yesterday I needed to drive all the way up to north Scottsdale to run an errand for David. Since the girls were coming with me, I figured we should do something fun to offset the long boring drive. So we stopped at Butterfly Wonderland.
First we went into the chrysalis room where a whole variety of species of butterfly and moth were displayed at various stages of metamorphosis. Some were still incubating tightly in their cocoons.
Others, like this garganutuan moth, were stretching and drying their wings.
Nature is so cool.
From there we went into the butterfly enclosure.
It felt like walking into a bathroom in the middle of someone’s hot steamy shower. I swear my contacts fogged up. But there were butterflies EVERYWHERE of all different colors and sizes.
Some were drinking delicately from flowers.
Others were gorging themselves on bowls of fruit.
(I’m tempted to set a bowl of cantaloupe outside and see if it attracts any butterflies, but it seems more likely to gather all the neighborhood ants. Better not.)
The girls were far more interested in the fish pond than the insects.
Which I respect. Koi are cool.
And you know a whole mess of fish aren’t going to land on you spontaneously if you hold still too long.
One butterfly made that mistake (holding still for too long, that is) and a Margot landed on it. I picked her up right away, and the butterfly fluttered off unharmed, but I’m guessing it was a little traumatized after suddenly finding a baby bum on its head.
Luckily for my fish loving water-babies, there was a freshwater fish exhibit in addition to all the butterfly stuff. We checked out all the “byooful fishies” and even got to touch some stingrays!
Both girls were in heaven. And since it turned what could have been a long boring errand into a fun adventure, I was a happy mama too. Plus that poor sat-on butterfly didn’t die. I’m calling the afternoon a success.
Logistics: Butterfly Wonderland is located at Via Ventura and Loop 101 in Scottsdale. It cost about $20 for all three of us (the girls were free since they’re under 3) which wasn’t too bad for a couple hours of fun. They also have a laser mirror maze thing that sounded intriguing; I think hitting up the butterflies and then the maze would be a really fun date.
I wonder if caterpillars know that they’re eventually going to be butterflies, or do they just start building their cocoons and are like, "why am I doing this?"
Bahahaha!