Cincinnati Parks: About The Butterflies At Krohn Conservatory Part 1

Press release from Cincinnati Parks:

Megan Baudendistel

2021-05-19

Written by: Regina E., Parks Entomologist

The Butterflies of Bali is open and we are so excited to share the many wonderful butterflies with the public. Below are just a few of the fluttering beauts you will find at Krohn. Extended evening hours are great for working families or special date nates. Timed tickets must be purchase online this year ahead of visiting. Click here to purchase your ticket.

We also offer special Photography Nights for those that would like to setup tripods, monipods, or other video equipment on limited Mondays. Purchase your Photography Nights ticket here.

The Blue Morpho is a large beautiful butterfly native to Mexico, Central and South America. They have dazzling iridescent blue wings with a wingspan up to 5½ inches. When perched on a tree, the eyespots on the bottom side of their wings can be seen; these eyespots help protect them from predators. When flying, the iridescent blue reflects light and the brown underneath camouflages, this creates an illusion that the Blue Morpho appears and disappears as it flaps its wings; this unique coloration adds extra protection from predators.

Blue Morphos are one of the butterflies that you will not see visiting flowers for nectar because they are frugivores, which means they prefer to feed on fruit. In their natural environment, when fruit isn’t available, they have been known to also feed on tree sap. It is also common for these lovely butterflies to feed closely together without becoming aggressive with one another, even looking quite crowded at times. Blue Morphos are definitely one of the most popular and recognized butterflies at Krohn Conservatory.

Tiger Leafwing
(Consul fabius)

Tiger Leafwing Butterfly

This press release was produced by Cincinnati Parks. The views expressed here are the author’s own.