The Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory Xmas Review
Written by Teresita Blanco (The Artsy Sister)
A few days ago, I went with my family to the Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory.
We had not visited the place since January 2021. In my first visit, I made a video about the Butterfly Conservatory.
This time I wanted to make a in depth blog about the place.
I express myself better in writing. The Conservatory has two parts. It has the gift shop and the butterfly preserve.
The gift shop went ham with the Christmas decorations. It was pretty cool! Unlike the first time I visited, the place was full of costumers.
Parents kept coming in with their children, in order to take them to see the butterflies.
The entrance to the butterfly garden now cost 20 bucks, per adult.
It is cheaper for children. I have a bit of a bug phobia, but I was able to muscle through it all for the sake of Journalism. Nah. Not really.
I wasn’t able to conquer my fear of butterflies. I sent my brother with the camera to the butterfly tour. He took all the butterfly photos and videos.
On the meantime, I rummaged through the gift shop, with my mother.
The thing is that I like looking at butterflies, but I do not like them on me.
It can’t be helped. I have a bug phobia, and butterflies are unfortunately bugs. I am super chill with ants though. Ants are nice.
According to my brother’s testimony, the butterfly preserve was overstuffed with Blue Morpho Butterflies. They are the main attraction of the preserve.
They also had a healthy variety of other butterflies.
If you want to lure more butterflies into your garden, you should check out the types of plants that the preserve uses to feed its butterflies.
Aside from butterflies, the preserve had flamingoes and parakeets. They offer a bit of variety to the experience.
At the end of the tour, you find the place where the preserve grows its butterflies. You see them starting from caterpillar, all the way to their final form.
After you pay the entrance fee, you can loaf about the preserve for as long as you want.
On the way out, you need to check for butterflies on your person.
The male butterflies like to lick the salt from human sweat. They need our salt and our electrolytes in order to become fertile.
So, now you know, why butterflies are landing on you. Since this is Florida, you are bound to be sweating a lot. If you sweat more than the average fellow, you are guaranteed to get swarmed by the male butterflies.
So, bring your camera. You are going to look very cool surrounded by butterflies.
Once you get bored of the butterflies, you can spend the rest of the afternoon in the giftshop.
The Giftshop was decked out for the holidays. Almost everything had a butterfly in it. The giftshop also sells designer jewelry that you won’t find anywhere else.
The price range of those jewelry varies. IT can be as cheap as 20 bucks or as expensive as 300 bucks. Part of the money of all your purchases goes to feeding the butterflies.
Another portion is given to charity. I took a photograph of the charity that the Butterfly Preserve gives money to.
It is called Restore Dignity. Restore Dignity helps students who have been abused by their teachers.
The education system in this country sucks. Now, back to the gift shop. My mother bought for herself some nice earring and scarfs for her friends.
I bought two new scarfs and a little butterfly shaped bottle. There were other items that I wanted to get, but, we spent most our small surplus in the hotel accommodations.
The highlights of the giftshop are the artworks made with the corpses of butterflies.
Once a caterpillar becomes a butterfly, their lifespan is severely shortened.
Butterflies only last long enough to reproduce and lay eggs. Afterwards, they pass on to the next life. Unlike other bugs, when butterflies perish the wings retain all their colors.
This makes their bodies perfect for craft projects. In the gift shop, I saw wall arts, Christmas ornaments and jewelry made from real butterflies.
This could be a unique gift you can give to a friend.
A single preserved butterfly costs somewhere between 35 and 50 bucks.
Two butterflies, ranged from 45 to 75. The price depended on their rarity factor. Common butterflies were cheaper.
All in all, the Butterfly Conservatory is a good place to learn, and also to shop for knickknacks.
Visiting this place during the Holiday season was quite the unique experience. The staff was friendly.
I think I ranted enough about the Butterfly Conservatory for one Day. If you are vacationing in Key West, do give the Butterfly Preserve a visit.
This is Teresita Blanco, the Artsy Sister. Bye, bye and God bless.
