This butterfly house is the only one returning to the area this year after going through reconstruction and planting. The next closest are in Cincinnati and Columbus.
“The extreme winter storms of 2021 and 2022 caused massive structural damage not only to Meadow View Grower’s butterfly house but to a majority of the butterfly habitat structures throughout Dayton,” said marketing manager Bryna Chandler. “(The) entire team has worked diligently to rebuild the structure from the ground up including replacing the physical structure, resewing the shade cloth walls, and replanting pollinating food sources.”
This year, the butterfly house will host five different butterfly species, including painted lady, monarch, red-spotted purple, common buckeye and giant swallowtail.
The painted ladies were the first set of butterflies to be released inside the structure along with various additional young caterpillars, larvae and eggs from the species.
As of Friday morning, there are a dozen painted ladies, 35 painted lady larvae and 25 monarch caterpillars. The habitat is expected to have more than 10,000 butterflies by the time they are released in September, and at least 2,500 of them should be the soon-to-be endangered monarch.
“Butterfly enclosures are essential to helping our environment, increasing the population of the much-needed pollinating butterflies. The Monarch butterfly in particular needs all the conservation we can give it, as it is close to becoming endangered,” Chandler said.
“Just as important to its ecological impact, these butterfly sanctuaries give those in the community a chance to learn about the importance of butterflies, their lifecycle, and how they can create pollinator gardens at home. Plus, it is fun for kids to watch the caterpillars grow and emerge into the much-loved butterflies,” Chandler added.
June and July are the best time to see and learn about the caterpillars and chrysalises while August and September are best for viewing the emerged butterflies.
The community is invited to visit the butterfly house during open hours, and are encouraged to pick up free information on how to create a pollinator garden.
The butterfly house, located at 755 N. Dayton Lakeview Road in New Carlisle, will be open in June from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday; and in July from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m..
For more information, visit meadowview.com/butterfly-house-opening-6-20-2022/.
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