Butterflies Go Free in the middle of winter in Montreal's Botanical Garden Greenhouses
Don't stay out in the cold ! The Tropics await you in the Montreal Botanical Garden's Main Exhibition Greenhouse.
February 17 to April 25, 2011 :
Get Closer to Butterflies’
Love Lives
Montreal, February 9, 2011
With flamboyant colours, enticing odours and evocative
dances, butterflies pull out all the stops when it comes to courting! From February 17
to April 25, 1,500 butterflies from around the globe will be showing off their charms
every day in the Botanical Garden’s Main Exhibition Greenhouse. Visitors to the 14th
edition of Butterflies Go Free will learn about the complex behaviour developed over
the millennia to ensure the survival of the species. Prepare to be enchanted!
Even butterflies cruise!
Butterflies have some pretty amazing rituals that they use to attract a mate. Male and
female butterflies start by visually identifying each other by their wing colours and
markings. For instance, some females are turned on by males’ white markings, which
reflect ultraviolet rays. Others are excited by the powerful odours, or pheromones,
released by courting males. Like a ballet, each movement is a signal, to which the other
one responds. This complex yet subtle game combines both beauty and intensity. Each
prospective partner is assessed in terms of his size, odour, performance, dance skills
and even tenacity. And competition is steep: may the best one win!
Bug bites
Nature interpreters from the Insectarium will be on hand to answer visitors’ questions and
share all sorts of fascinating details in “Bug Bites” talks. For the very best experience, we
suggest coming in the morning on a sunny day, when the butterflies are most active.
Please note - The Insectarium is closed temporarily
While the butterflies are flitting about the greenhouse, the Insectarium is closed until early
summer, while its permanent exhibition is being redone. Please join us this summer to get
closer to the world of insects with the new exhibition, We Are the Insects.
| ServicesMontreal.com 's latest BUTTERFLY video 2009 | Videos Jacqueline Mallette, ServicesMontreal.com | Georges Brossard, founder of the Montreal Insectarium, is the man who inspire the movie the Blue Butterfly. Morphoes and other butterflies go free during the winter exhibition at the Montréal Botanical Garden |
Butterflies Go Free, much more than butterflies
For the 12th season of Butterflies Go Free, the Montréal Insectarium is presenting hundreds of butterflies and moths from near and far, and a number of “bug bites,” mini scientific presentations to help visitors better understand the life cycles and ecological roles of butterflies and moths. It’s an eco-tourism trip in the heart of the city, one that you can enjoy over and over again!
Butterflies Go Free 2011
Butterflies Go Free 2011
February 17 to April 25 - Tuesday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Open Mondays, February 28, March 7 (School breaks) and April 25 (Easter)
General information and rates: 514 872-1400 / museumsnature.ca
Montreal
Botanical Garden
4101 Sherbrooke St. East (corner of Pie IX)
Montreal, Quebec
Tel: (514) 872-1400
Pie-IX metro station
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