Krohn Conservatory's annual butterfly show is inspired by space this year. Manager Mark House says butterflies and caterpillars were taken into orbit in 2009 to see how they would adapt to the weightless environment. House says students back on Earth were able to follow the lifecycles of what were soon called 鈥渂utternauts and astropillars.鈥�
鈥淚n the show, we actually have monarchs and painted lady butterflies, the two species that were taken up to the International Space Station,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e included some of the elements of the ISS, such as the hydroponics and pocket gardening. And we even have our own version of the astropillars.鈥�
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Those are cocoons on display in a separate nursery room.
House says monarchs and painted ladies are two species among 85 flying around the greenhouse.
鈥淔rom all over the world. Every color of the rainbow. Some of the most popular ones are the blue morphos, which are big blue Central American butterflies,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he owl butterflies, the Caligos; they look like they have a big eye on them that scares away predators.鈥�
You can see the cocoons on display, along with the butterflies through August. The show . House recommends making a reservation.
