Guides Corner

Butterfly Zone MAQ for Conservatory Volunteers
(Most Asked Questions)

Thank you very much for volunteering. Your involvement makes this exhibit possible. To help you, we've assembled a list of the questions and comments you are most likely to get from our visitors.

1. Where do the butterflies come from?
We buy the butterflies from reputable butterfly farms in Florida, Texas and California. These butterflies are not wild collected, they're specifically bred for captivity.

2. How long will they live?
Depending on the species and the time of year, butterflies can live anywhere from 2 weeks to 9 months in the wild.

3. How many butterflies are in the exhibit?
There are approximately 600-800 butterflies from as many as thirty different species in this exhibit.

4. Why are there no caterpillars in the exhibit?
Due to the type of USDA permit we hold, we don't have larval food plants. Without the plants for the larva, the butterflies usually won't lay eggs. We're not in the butterfly breeding business and would need acres of larval food plants to keep them alive if we were. Typically, the female butterfly absorbs any eggs she may have produced.

5. What's inside the chrysalis?
Goo! The caterpillar completely breaks down in the chrysalis. Its body liquefies as it restructures into a butterfly. Many people have the misconception that the larva is “resting” in the chrysalis. Not true, a severe change in form is underway.

6. There's a dead butterfly over there. Can you do something?
As subtly as possible, pick up the dead butterfly and place it in the bucket that we've hidden behind the big blue and green polka dot wall (on the east side of the gallery). If the visitor seems concerned, let them know that butterflies have a relatively short life span and this death is natural.

DO NOT give the dead butterfly to anyone or take it out of the gallery yourself. These butterflies have the potential (though a remote potential because these are captive bred) of carrying disease and it is imperative that no butterfly, dead or alive, leaves this space.

7. A butterfly is having trouble emerging from its chrysalis. Can you help it?
Some will fail in their emergence and die. This is part of the natural process. Because we have no predators in this gallery, we actually have a much higher rate of survival in the exhibit than butterflies in the wild. Please do not go get the staff. There is little they can do. Our staff makes regular periodic checks on the Butterfly Bungalow.

8. How long does it take a butterfly to emerge?
It typically takes only a few minutes to emerge from the chrysalis and 2-4 hours for a butterfly to be ready to fly. They may look wet when they emerge, but they're not. They're wings are soft and they are pumping fluid into their wings to expand them, after which they harden.

9. What's the red stuff all over the emergence shelves in the Butterfly Bungalow?
This is mycomium. It's the waste product developed while the butterfly is in the chrysalis. After the butterfly has emerged form the chrysalis and its wings are full-sized, this excess fluid is discharged. Other animals, including human fetuses, produce mycomium, as well.

10. What is the staff doing in the bungalow?
They are catching the new butterflies for release into the exhibit. They are also keeping records on how many have emerged.

11. Why are there trays of moss in the emergence space?
The moist moss increases the humidity in the chamber making it easier for the butterflies to emerge.

A few things we ask of you:

• Please monitor the doors. Make sure they are kept closed. We want to keep the butterflies in the Special Exhibits Gallery.
• Minimize handling of the butterflies by visitors. If you must move a butterfly (i.e. to keep it from being stepped on) a soda straw, popsicle stick or pencil are good tools to use to encourage the butter fly to fly. Touching them can damage the butterflies. The lotions and oils form your skin can clog the receptors on the butterflies' feet.
• Check for hitchhikers. Do a visual check as visitors leave the exhibit to make sure no butterflies have attached themselves to visitors.
• If a butterfly gets into one of the other galleries, please notify guests services. Don't attempt to wrangle the butterfly alone.

Please feel free to email me of call me if you encounter other frequently asked questions. (lisavan@pacbell.net or 415 637-4326)