Tropical Butterflies Take a Trip to Tucson
by Jonah Holland, PR & Marketing Coordinator, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden
Rachel Robbins, butterfly whisperer, rounding up butterflies with her hands!
One of the most common questions we get is what do we do with the butterflies after the Butterflies LIVE! exhibit ends. Monday we had a “butterfly round-up” in the Conservatory as we chased down butterflies in butterfly nets & got them ready for their trip to Tucson Botanical Garden’s Butterfly Magic exhibit. First we used a bit of water to coax them to where we could reach them with nets, then we collected them in butterfly carriers. Finally we pack them in boxes in a Styrofoam cooler with ice packs so that they slow down and go into a sleep-like state for the trip. Then we ship them overnight.
Annie Raup, Lead Butterfly Curator said they spent from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. rounding up the butterflies. In total, we sent 194 butterflies and 36 chrysalides to Tucson. Stay tuned, we hope to post photos of those butterflies in their new home soon!
Rachel’s got the net ready, but this one (top of frame) got away.
Rounding up butterflies is not as easy as it looks.
Can you tell Alex Studd-Sojka loves her job as butterfly curator?
Butterfly curators Rachel Robbins & Annie Raup rounding-up the butterflies.
I made a 10-second Instagram / YouTube video of the process too. Check it out!