Australian Butterfly Sanctuary 30th Birthday
Australian Butterfly Sanctuary has celebrated its landmark 30th year of operation! Initially designed and built by Paul and Sue Wright in 1987, the Woodward Family The CaPTA Group purchased a one half share of the business in 2004 and then the remaining share in 2007. Since owned by the The CaPTA Group, many extensions and […]
Why do some butterflies have holes in their wings?
A question we often get asked is about why some butterflies have holes in their wings or look old and ratty. Butterflies wings actually wear out when they fly. When a butterfly emerges out of the chrysalis the wings are small, crumpled and wet but the abdomen is swollen with fluid. The butterfly pumps this […]
Kuranda Easter Celebrations
Kuranda Easter Celebrations It is that time of the year again when families can get together and celebrate Easter. So why not participate in the Kuranda Easter celebrations? This year, the Kuranda Village will be alive on Saturday 15th April with various activities happening including live entertainment for all ages. Among the various activities include […]
Butterfly Eyes – How Do They See Colour?
Butterfly eyes are unique and function differently compared to the human eye. Although butterflies may not have a human’s sharp eye, there vision beats ours in other ways! The different colours and patterns that butterflies can see are invisible to the human eye. This is because their eyes are better at picking up fast moving […]
How Do Butterflies Maintain Their Temperature?
If you didn’t already know, butterflies are actually cold blooded animals. This means their body temperatures are not regulated on their own. If the butterflies are either too cold or too warm, they are unable to fly. This poses the question, how does the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary maintain a suitable temperature for the butterflies? Although […]
Australian Butterfly Life Cycle
There are many different sections within the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary, each are crucial to the development and conservation of these beautiful creatures. Once you walk through the reception and gift shop you will enter the main aviary. Butterflies can fly freely throughout this area, and there is huge number of different species all around you. […]
Friday Fun Fact – Orange Migrant Butterflies!
You might remember recently, we mentioned that we had some Orange Migrant caterpillars in our laboratory. Great news, they have emerged and we have some beautiful butterflies flying around our aviary! We’ve been growing the host plant for a few years now, so it’s exciting that we now have the butterfly to go with it. […]
Do butterflies have a brain?
Our butterfly guide, Robin, has often been asked “do butterflies have a brain?” This is a very good illustration on the internal organs … and what do you know, they do have a brain! Insect anatomy scheme A– Head B– Thorax C– Abdomen antenna ocelli (lower) ocelli (upper) compound eye brain (cerebral ganglia) prothorax dorsal artery […]
Orange Migrant Caterpillars
Here in the sanctuary, we have around 70 Orange Migrant caterpillars that should pupate in the next week. 2 to 3 weeks after pupation, they will emerge … just before Christmas! Merry Christmas to us! Source: Caterpillar photos: Australian Butterfly Sanctuary Butterfly photo: http://butterflycircle.blogspot.com.au/2013/10/life-history-of-orange-emigrant.html
New Aviary sign
We’ve had so many new butterflies in the aviary recently, we needed to make a new aviary sign! Keep an eye out for it next time you visit – it will help you identify some of our new species that are flying around the aviary. Remember, some of our butterflies are seasonal so you may […]