The Butterfly Show at Krohn Conservatory:

Monarch, Danaus plexippus, Native to North and Central America, Europe and Australia

Krohn conservatory is a very interesting place to visit. It’s inexpensive and full of lots of interesting flowers and plants. I really like the orchid room. David and I went last year for the Butterfly show, and for Mother’s day, decided to visit again with my Mom and my Brother. We got there around 11, which was a good time. If you go on a weekend, earlier is better—especially Sundays. Aim to be there before the churches release their patrons.

Swallowtail, local

The butterfly show will run until the end of May, and Krohn is constantly hatching new butterflies and releasing them throughout the day. So, in theory, the last day should be a good as the first.

David and I shared the camera, and I watched the people as much as the butterflies. There were tons of kids there, so watch your step. You wouldn’t want to crush a butterfly or some kid’s foot. The kids were trying to be gentle with the butterflies, but kids are clumsy, so there were some cringe-worthy moments, but I witnessed no casualties.

blue morpho sans blue

The parents…well, that’s a different story. David saw an enthusiastic dad stick a butterfly on his sleeping baby’s face. I saw another couple trying to convince a butterfly to land on their kid’s hair. Parents were frantically running around, trying to get photo ops of their offspring and make sure that they didn’t smush any butterflies in their enthusiasm. There were a lot of cameras around, ranging from point and shoot to more professional digital SLR’s. David and I were chagrined to see quite a few people toting around high end cameras with huge lenses….and the flash up.

Julia, or Dryas Julia, native to North, Central and South America


Paper kite, idea leuconoe, from Asia







Common birdwing, Troides Helena, from India. This is the largest butterfly in India, and it's pretty scary.


yikes



Peacock Pansy, Junonia Almana from India


Clipper, Parthenos Sylvia lilacinus, from India


Banded Peacock, Papilio Palinurus, from Asia


Morpho, Morpho Peleides, from South America

David and I spend a lot of time trying to catch a good picture of the blue morpho, but they are shy and difficult to find.

As I was walking around, one of the volunteers asked if I would like a butterfly. I was kind of freaked out by the huge ones on the cage, but this one looked fairly small, so OK.

er....it tickles. get it off! get it off! get it off!

take the picture yet?

OK, SRSLY, done now, can I put it down?

After we had our fill of butterflies, we decided to visit the rest of the exhibits. The desert room was first.

feed me, seymour!

agave somehow turns into tequila

We then progressed to the orchid room, which is my favorite. There’s a little pond in the beginning with some goldfish, which I spotted immediately.

“Fishy!” I said to David, pointing to the orange fish, which was now half hidden behind a rock.

David shot me an amused look 30 seconds later, when a two year old walked in with her Dad. “Fishy!” She exclaimed, pointing in the exact manner I had.

these are my favorite types

and finally to the main plant room. David and I saw three turtles in the stream, which he was excited about.

Krohn Trivia: Did you know scenes from the Cincinnati based movie Airborne , which stars both Seth Green and a young Jack Black, were filmed here?