The Butterfly House at Ladew is an all native butterfly house. Ladew staff, interns and trained volunteers gently net butterflies and moths on Ladew’s grounds and place them inside the Butterfly House where they have all that they need to live complete life cycles. This means that we are able to showcase not only butterflies and moths, but also eggs, caterpillars, chrysalis and cocoons! In addition to highlighting these beautiful insects, the plants that they rely on are also integral to this exhibit.
Learn how you can support butterflies in your own yard! Trained Butterfly House docents and educational signage guide visitors through the natural gardens and life cycles of over 20 species of local butterflies, moths and caterpillars.
Be amazed! Many of our visitors return to the Butterfly House on a regular basis as fascinating changes happen quickly in the summertime. An explosion of caterpillars one week means that shortly after, butterflies are emerging from their chrysalis, or eggs are hatching!
The Butterfly House at Ladew Gardens is made possible, in part, through the generosity of the Middendorf Foundation, Inc. We also thank the Delaplaine Foundation, Inc. for their generous support in assisting Ladew in the production of educational signage to enrich the learning experience in our Butterfly House.