Summer is the time for sunny weather, warm breezes, and beautiful bugs–like butterflies!
Irvine’s Butterfly House exhibit is open for its second season, and there’s no better place to get an up close view of some of Maryland’s native winged beauties!
Visitors can see a mixture of native nectar and host plants, which provide food for both the caterpillar and adult form of our many butterfly species, most of which are found naturally on Irvine’s property.
While most people are familiar with the iconic monarch butterflies, our exhibit puts the spotlight on some lesser known, but just as magical, winged pollinators.
The mourning cloak, a forest dweller that feeds on tree sap and animal scat, is the first butterfly to appear in early spring. Often raised in classrooms, the painted lady is a small, but colorful little butterfly that has one of the widest ranges of host plants!
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- Mourning Cloak
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- Painted Lady
Swallowtails are some of the largest and most showy of our native butterflies–the black swallowtail is a prime example, with its blue and yellow wing pattern and the characteristic “tails” on each hindwing. The common buckeye also gets its name from the pattern on its wings; each one displays a prominent “eye” shape that acts as a defense against predators!
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- Black Swallowtail
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- Common Buckeye
These species, among many others, can be seen throughout the summer months in Irvine’s exhibit!
Be sure to stop by, Friday through Monday from 11am to 3pm, and catch a glimpse of these native winged beauties!
