Niagara Butterfly Conservatory

The day after we strolled around Niagara-on-the-Lake we started out by visiting a maple sugar farm.  Not too much was happening, but the kids did get to try some maple samples and we picked up some containers of genuine Canadian maple syrup to enjoy later.  Our next stop was the Butterfly Conservatory and we had a great time there.

Located on the grounds of the Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens, visitors to the Butterfly Conservatory are transported to a tropical paradise full of lush vegetation, trickling waterfalls and thousands of vibrantly coloured butterflies. Over 2,000 butterflies, made up of 45 different species, call this beautiful space home. The self-guided walking tour of the Butterfly Conservatory begins with a short, informative video presentation.
--from Niagara Parks website

We parked in the nearest parking lot and walked towards the conservatory through the gardens.

That seem to have quite extensive botanical gardens as part of the local parks.

You can tell the conservatory building from a ways off due to the green-house like structure.

Admission wasn't too bad due to the exchange rate and the fact that all three kids were under six, so they were all free.

We spotted butterflies fairly quickly once the video was done and we were ready to begin our tour.

The foliage is quite lush, and I imagine it stays so year-round since the conservatory doesn't close over the winter.

Keep an eye out for insects in some places that you might not expect.

I liked the contrast of this butterfly against the red of the plants.

Plates of food were located at many different places and were usually hotspots of butterfly activity.

This one almost blended in to the background.

On the other hand this one definitely did not.

The plants were even growing up quite close to the ceiling.

Be careful where you put your hands.

The emergence chamber gave you a close-up view of the process of metamorphosis.

I spotted this bright orange one inside the chamber.

Here was another one almost blending in.

Amy didn't notice that there was one clinging to her back.

Waterfalls provided another great location for spotting multiple varieties.

While there were some stairs there were also plenty of ramps throughout the building.

And so many places there were beautiful contrasts of colors.

I especially enjoyed these flowers.

Again more contrast with the red plant material.

Palm trees are likely not very common in Canada.

I found this black and white butterfly quite fetching.

I was also pleased that I was able to take a number of very close shots (all of these photos were taken on my iPhone 8).

I really enjoy the effect of a time lapse photo of falling water.

These red flowers were very enjoyable.

I'm not sure how we found the exit, but somehow we managed.

Another one that refused to camouflage.

 One last photo before we left.

The gift shop included quite a number of gifts, especially those that were butterfly themed.

You can view more photos from our visit in this album.

~Matt