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8/9/2012 - West Side Leader
     

By Kathleen Folkerth

Shown is an eastern comma butterfly on exhibit at Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens.

Photo courtesy of Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens

WEST AKRON — Butterflies are back at Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens in an exhibit that helps visitors examine the life cycle of the insects close up.

“This is a little more intimate,” said Communications Manager Donna Spiegler in comparing the Beauty in Flight: Butterflies of North America exhibit to one Stan Hywet opened in Corbin Conservatory several years ago.

Previously, the butterflies exhibited were more exotic butterflies that had to be contained and carefully monitored. But the new exhibit, in a screened “hoop house” adjacent to the Corbin Conservatory, features more native species of butterflies, Spiegler said, such as monarch, red admiral, black swallowtail, viceroy, painted lady, sulphur and buckeye.

“It’s OK if they get away,” she said.

Also, the staff is letting the life cycle of the insects proceed naturally, so eggs laid on leaves are left to develop into caterpillars, which then change into a cocoon before emerging as winged insects.

Nancy Hardy, of Bath, who volunteers at the exhibit, said the plants and flowers placed in the exhibit attract the butterflies.

“These are all butterfly-friendly, and this is something anyone can do at home,” Hardy said. “The big thing they don’t like is pesticides, so there’s none of that.”

Visitors are welcome to take a cotton swab, dip it in nectar and hold it still to attract a butterfly. The insects also sometimes end up on hat brims and shoulders.

The exhibit also features materials about the insects’ life cycle with diagrams that help explain to children what takes place, Hardy said. Children also can get a butterfly stamp and participate in hands-on activities there.

Spiegler said the butterflies are expected to remain on exhibit into early September. The exhibit will return again next summer, she added.

The exhibit is included in Stan Hywet’s Gardens and Grounds admission, which is available from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. The cost is $10 for adults, $4 for children and free for Stan Hywet members. Stan Hywet is located at 714 N. Portage Path.

For additional information, call 330-836-5533 or go to www.stanhywet.org.

     

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