ZOO CONTACT: Kyle Shepherd
502-238-5331 (Media Cell 502-744-5639)
kyle.shepherd@louisvilleky.gov
Butterflies are back! The Zoo’s Butterflies n’ Blooms exhibit opens Saturday, May 14 and runs through Sunday, September 18. This seasonal exhibit is free with Zoo admission or membership and is open daily 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., weather permitting. The exhibit is in collaboration with Idlewild Butterfly Farm.
Visitors will be able to walk amongst hundreds of native butterflies sipping nectar from colorful flowers in our 1,000 sq. ft. outdoor flight house located across from the bongo exhibit. Butterfly and plant identification signs will help guests interpret what they are seeing. Inside the exhibit, guests can also learn about and witness the lifecycle of the butterfly from caterpillar to chrysalid to butterfly.
Visitors to the Zoo will see a variety of butterfly species over the course of the summer including monarchs, red admirals, painted ladies, several species of swallowtails, buckeyes, commas, question marks, orange sulphurs and red spotted purples.
A list of all butterfly species that may be in the exhibit during the season along with photos can be found on the Zoo’s website at louisvillezoo.org/butterflies. Also, on the web page are tips on helping butterflies, why pollinators and bugs are beneficial, and lots more.
Monarchs and Milkweed Pollinator Habitat Project
Last year, as a member of AZA’s SAFE North American Monarch Butterfly program, the Zoo launched the Monarchs and Milkweed Pollinator Habitat Project to provide an opportunity for community partners to develop a connection with nature through habitat development and have a direct impact on the conservation of the monarch butterfly. The Zoo opened the project with the installation of pollinator gardens at Seven Counties Services on West Broadway and at Bellarmine University on Newburg Rd.
This spring, the Zoo will be helping plant pollinator gardens with two additional partners — Brooklawn at Seven Counties Services in Newburg and Slaughter Elementary on Fern Valley Rd. This fall, the Zoo will continue adding more pollinator garden partners. Interested community members can inquire about becoming a partner to plant their own pollinator garden at louisvillezoo.org/monarchs-and-milkweed.
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About the Louisville Zoo
Since 2011, under Mayor Fischer’s administration, the Louisville Zoo celebrated its 50th anniversary, opened nine new exhibits and attractions, and won national awards for Glacier Run and School at the Zoo. Considered Kentucky’s most popular not-for-profit paid attraction, the Zoo welcomed nearly 9 million guests in the last decade. In 2021, the Zoo was voted “Best Place to Take Kids in Summer,” by LEO Weekly, “Best Kid-Friendly Attraction” by Kentucky Living Magazine and Boo at the Zoo made the Top 10 Halloween Festivals list by thetravel.com. Community Access Memberships, deep-discount days, the Future Healers Got Zoo Buddies partnership and the accessible playground are among prime efforts to make Louisville Zoo even safer, more engaging, and more inclusive. Among the Louisville Zoo’s most successful conservation programs, the black-footed ferret breeding effort produced 1,100 kits and repatriated more than 800 of these most highly endangered, American mammals to the wild.
The Louisville Zoo, a non-profit organization and state Zoo of Kentucky, is dedicated to bettering the bond between people and our planet by providing excellent care for animals, a great experience for visitors, and leadership in scientific research and conservation education. The Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
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