During our visit to St. Maarten (or St. Martin) we were lucky enough to stop at the Butterfly Farm. The facility is a medium sized building which we walked through to the back. When we opened the door there was a very large area draped with a light mesh fabric. The butterflies are housed in this large area. The butterflies are well fed and cared for by the owners. Here are some of the photos I took at the farm.
This monarch butterfly is an inspiration to me. If I could sew a butterfly that looks just like this into one of my quilts…..that would be fantastic.
They cut oranges and bananas for the butterflies to eat. I knew butterflies were attracted to certain flowers but I did not realize they would be attracted to the cut fruit. As I always so….learn something new every day. That means I could cut fruit and put it in my backyard to feed the butterflies. Nice to know.
The above photo is the back, closed wings, of the butterfly. This is what the butterfly looks like with it’s wings opened. OK, again, something new for me. All of the butterflies I have seen in my area have the same design on the front and back of their wings. I assumed all butterflies were like that. My assumption was wrong. Again, I am thinking how much I learn each and every day and how amazing a design like this butterfly would look on one of my quilts. I think this is called a Morpho butterfly.
Here are some more amazing butterflies.
Not only was this a wonderful sight to see but it was educational as well. The owners walked us through and talked about the lives of the butterflies and how endangered they are. They have too many predators. You can find out more about the butterfly farm at www.thebutterflyfarm.com