The Butterfly Pavilion is home to more than butterflies. Beyond Butterflies: Discovering Westminster’s Hidden World of Beetles, Spiders and Sea Stars is a great adventure for the “not faint of heart.”  We also find corals, beetles, spiders, and more. Let’s take a look at some tidal coral and a giant green anemone with a starfish. […]

This is a Clipper butterfly (Parthenos sylvia), characterized by its striking black, white, and often blue or green patterned wings. It is native to South and Southeast Asia, typically inhabiting tropical forests and coastal areas near rivers. Clippers are known as strong, fast flyers that alternate between rapid wing beats and short glides. Scientific Classification: […]

One of the strangest creatures at the Pavilion is the brain coral in the Water’s Edge exhibit. It is also an example of a murmuration. . This Platygyra coral displays intense contrasting colors, featuring neon green tissue within deep blue valleys. Commonly known as a Brain Coral, it belongs to the Large Polyp Stony (LPS) […]

          One of the many reasons I enjoy visiting the Butterfly Pavilion is that every visit brings a new opportunity to slow down and appreciate the incredible beauty that exists in nature’s smallest details. During a recent visit, I was fortunate enough to capture this image of a Lime Butterfly resting […]

With patience, butterflies at the Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster will land on you. Calm patience helps. The butterflies with the big “eye” on the outside are blue morphos.   The Blue Morpho is one of the most famous and recognizable butterflies in the world. Many people are surprised to learn that when its wings are […]

This black and white butterfly feeding on an orange flower cluster is less commonly known as a , commonly known as the Ismenius Tiger or Tiger Heliconian. As a lover of words, otherwise known as a lexophile, a linguaphile , or even a word nerd,  you’ve got to love the name of this butterfly.  From […]

Boulder’s neighboring Westminster Butterfly Pavilion is home to many of the famous and beautiful blue morpho butterflies. These blue beauties are both spectacular and fast!  They simply won’t hold still to be photographed. Yesterday was the exception. I set up in a comfortable position, propped on a bench, and waited. I found a spot where the blue butterflies […]

Boulder’s neighboring jungle at the Westminster Butterfly Pavilion hosts the Atlas Moth. One of the quiet joys of living near Boulder is that, even in the dead of winter, you can step into a living jungle. Our near-Boulder neighbor, the Westminster Butterfly Pavilion, has just welcomed an extraordinary guest — the Atlas Moth — and […]

The Boulder Butterfly Series continues just outside the city limits, where tropical color thrives year-round. At the Butterfly Pavilion in neighboring Westminster Colorado the Heliconius melpomene—commonly known as the Postman Butterfly—offers a striking reminder that even on dark days, nature finds a way to shine. The Postman Butterfly is known for its deep black wings […]

Lensworth here next to Boulder, and what better way to spend a Colorado day than wandering through the warm, living wonderland that is the Westminster Butterfly Pavilion? If there is one place where curiosity flutters louder than wings, it’s here – especially when the Pavilion is packed with kids. Their reactions are half the show, […]