Homosassa Butterfly Experience

July 2012

One of the many wonderful stops while in the Homosassa area is Butterfly gardens and exhibit at Homosassa Butterfly. Located just off  19/98 on Cardinal Street you will find a wonderful place for the whole family to experience!  The price is right (under $10 for adults) and for a short time you can even find a discount coupon from website!

You really cannot drive past the building - location lettering is in bright red across the front of the location and beautifully painted butterflies. there is ample parking and no stairs. Inside you will find the staff incredibly friendly and knowledgeable. I highly suggest taking a few minutes and watching the short introductory movie in their very comfortable theater! This is a great way to prepare for all you will learn walking around the exhibit.

I waited for the tour after the movie (a whole 5 minutes) and it really was worth it! I would never have spotted on my own all the butterflies, eggs, and caterpillars.  Our guide opened the displays and even let the children in the group get close up views of  caterpillars soon to become butterflies. the almost invisible to the naked eye eggs were a treat to see and now I know how to find them in the wild!

Your guide will talk to you about plants the butterflies feed on (Did you know they taste through their feet?) and which plants they lay their eggs on so the baby caterpillars have a plentiful food source when they hatch. The will even tell you about the number one enemy of the eggs, ants! 

There are beautiful murals all over the walls and 3D sculptures all around as well. Take your time , there is so much to learn and the air conditioning feels wonderful in the summer! When you have had your fill learning about the butterflies, step into the garden. There are double sets of doors here to keep them from getting loose. You will find many variety of them here, in a wide variety of colors.

The flowers were just beautiful when we visited and there were eggs on many of the leaves. There is a nice little bridge the young  girls loved standing on and posing for photos with the butterflies on neighboring flowers. The garden is beautiful and full of native food for the butterflies. 

After exploring the gardens don't forget to visit the little gift shop before you leave! Plant to spend 1 1/2 to 2 hours for this visit so that you really get to take in the full experience. This is a very special place and there are many educational opportunities that can follow a visit here. With our ever shrinking population on pollinators we need to know how to identify and protect all that we can!

 Happy Trails!

Jeanene

To see more of our photos from this trip please visit: http://notaclueadventuresphotos.shutterfly.com/pictures/854

Participate in a volunteer butterfly count the last Friday of every month March - October at Chinsegut Conservation Center near Brooksville.

For more information on booking your adventure with us please visit our website at Not a Clue Adventures  or on facebook