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Click here for the encyclopedia of the butterflies in our gardens.
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We have a high standard for quality of butterfly and for the quantity of butterflies that are available in the gardens. Generally we maintain a minimum of 3000 butterflies flying freely about our gardens. We successfully breed about 15 species of butterflies and it takes about 400-700
additional butterflies each week to be imported from butterfly breeding farms,  with our main suppliers Costa Rica, Malaysia, and London England.
The importing of butterflies is a very controlled and regulated process. Every week we receive a faxed or e-mailed list of butterfly pupae that are available for shipment from several suppliers. We select the species that we would like to order and advise that supplier. Butterflies are then shipped to us the following Monday. They arrive at Vancouver, are cleared by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and shipped in bond to Victoria. Upon arrival we advise the CFIA in Victoria who may or may not decide to inspect them upon arrival at our facility. The box of butterfly pupae is then brought to the gardens and our staff carefully place the pupae on racks in the Emerging Room (or Butterfly Nursery).
The Life Cycles of the Butterfly
Egg Stage:
To the eye, butterfly eggs appear to be nothing more than little spots.
Under a microscope, however, they reveal a great variety of shapes. The
female lays eggs on or near a relative food source and then completely
abandons them. Before long, a tiny worm-like creature hatches from the
egg.
Caterpillar or Larvae Stage:
The newly emerged caterpillar has biting jaws, six real legs and a number
of extra 'prolegs'. It starts to quickly devouring its food source and
sheds its skin in order to grow. In the case of a butterfly caterpillar after it molts four times (in most cases), the skin removed hardens to become the chrysalis or pupa. A moth however will first spin a cocoon, and then climb inside it to molt and form the chrysalis or pupa.
Pupa or Chrysalis Stage:
Although the Chrysalis looks lifeless, there's a lot going on inside as
the caterpillar is literally liquefied and then reassembled. It's is still
not fully understood how this process occurs.
Butterfly Stage:
The first evidence that a butterfly is about to emerge is usually a transparency
of the chrysalis, revealing colors beneath. When the chrysalis splits,
a limp, damp butterfly emerges. Initially, the wings are like soggy paper,
but pumping blood and using gravity to help causes them to expand, strengthen and harden enough to be able to take their first flight. This process takes approximately 2 hours after which time the butterfly or moth is ready to fly off and hunt for food and a mate.
Questions and Answers about Butterflies
How many kinds of butterflies are there?
Scientists estimate that there are up to 15,000 species of butterflies and 250,000 species of moths. There are still thousands of moth and butterfly species that have not been found or described by scientists. In the United States and Canada, more than 750 species of butterflies and 11,000 species of moths have been recorded.
What makes butterflies and moths different?
There is no single, specific difference between butterflies and moths, but rather several general characteristics that differentiate butterflies and moths. The following table shows some of these general differences:
| Butterflies | Moths |
| rest with their wings closed above their body | rest with their wings open on either side of their body |
| have antennae that look like long threads with a knot at the end | have antennae that look like feathers |
| are brightly coloured and very obvious | have dull colors that camouflage (blend-in) |
| are most active during the day | are most active at night |
| in the caterpillar stage, form a hardened chrysalis | in the caterpillar stage, make soft cocoons |
| do not spin silk | spin silk |
Again, the above are only general characteristics. There are butterflies and moths that do not meet all of their respective characteristics.
How does a caterpillar turn into a butterfly?
This is not easy to explain. One could say that inside the chrysalis the caterpillar changes clothes and turns into a butterfly. Actually, what happens is that the caterpillar structures are broken down chemically and the adult's new structures are formed. To be more blunt, the solids of the caterpillar completely liquify and then form the new solid structures of the butterfly.
Are there poisonous butterflies?
If you mean "poisonous" like a bee or snake then the answer is no; there are no known butterflies or moths that are harmful to touch or possess the ability to inject venom. There are, however, butterflies that are poisonous to eat. Butterflies such as the Monarch and Pipevine Swallowtail actually eat poisonous plants as caterpillars and are poisonous themselves as adult butterflies. Birds learn not to eat them. Other good tasting butterflies (called mimics) come to resemble them and thus benefit from this "umbrella" of protection.
How long do butterflies live?
Adult butterflies on average live about two to three weeks, but some species of moths live a mere three or four days. Because of the chance of birds or other predators eating them, or a failed emergence from their cocoon or chrysalis, some butterflies may live less than a day. Many chrysalides can also fall prey to different parasites and never reach the butterfly stage.
How did butterflies get their name?
There are several different explanations... The word "butterfleuge", which means butterfly today, has been in the English language for centuries, but because it's an "old word", nobody knows for certain who said it or when. The most plausible explanations for the word "butterfly" include:
- One story is that they were named so because it was thought that butterflies, or witches that took on the shape of butterflies, stole milk and butter.
- Another widely accepted story from the British Isles is that because a common species there is the Yellow Brimstone, people first referred to it as a "butter-coloured fly", shortly thereafter the word was shortened to "butterfly".
Can handling damage butterflies?
The short answer is, absolutely! Knowledgeable people can safely handle butterflies that are medium to large in size, but being handled improperly can fatally damage any butterfly. For example, if the vein on the front wing is broken then it will cause the butterfly to be flightless evermore. Butterflies can endure the loss of wing scales and this is common "wear and tear" for any butterfly. Cocoons, a stage in the moth life cycle, are pretty tough as long as nobody squeezes them and they're handled carefully by the silk part. Don't handle a chrysalis though, the butterflies metamorphic stage, as they are much more delicate.
What do butterflies eat (do they eat bugs)?
With few exceptions, adult butterflies don't really eat but they do drink various liquids to maintain their water balance and energy stores. It's generally the caterpillar stage that does all the eating so the butterfly stage can focus on procreation. There are, however, some carnivorous butterflies. One example is the Harvester butterfly that will lay eggs in woolly aphid masses because the resulting caterpillars will feed on them. The Harvester butterfly (in the butterfly stage) can also pierce woolly aphids and drink their fluids (much like a spider eats its prey). The Harvester butterfly is an exception, however, as most caterpillars and butterflies are strict vegetarians.
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