For thousands of years people have been watching butterflies and become fascinated with their unusual flight and amazing life cycle. In many cultures butterflies symbolise love, freedom and the rebirth of the immortal soul. For centuries, collectors and philosophers have been pouring over the biology of butterflies and the fascinating pattern coded on their wings.

Many people are really concerned about the disappearance of butterflies from our suburbs. At Butterfly Adventures, we are often asked: “Where did all the butterfly go?” For butterflies to survive and thrive they need habitat and the presence of food plants for their fussy caterpillars to fuel their growth and metamorphosis. Every species of butterfly requires its own particular group of plants that their caterpillars can feed on. Often, by getting rid of a particular group of plants in our environment, we inadvertently get rid of our butterflies.

The Story of the Monarch Butterflies

Monarchs are large bright orange butterflies with black markings on their wings. With their characteristic gliding flight they try to conserve as much energy as possible by catching the upward movements of warm air. Monarchs indeed are one of the most famous butterflies in the world, with mass migrations occurring, which involve millions of individuals travelling from the US to the North of Mexico- a staggering distance of some 2000 miles!
Scientists think that Monarchs made their way to Australia and New Zealand some 150 years ago by hopping across South Pacific islands. They were able to stay here thanks to the introduction of Asclepias sp. commonly know as swan plants by Europeans as swan plant is the only plant that Monarch caterpillars will eat. Very quickly Monarchs has spread throughout most of the continent and have become one of our favourite butterflies.

The Great Australian Tradition

In the past, there were always one or two swan plants on every back yard amusing the kids with their swan-like fruit. The older generations still remember how their mum and dads would bring a few branches of swan plants with caterpillars from the backyard, put them in a shoe box and together with their children would observe the forming of the butterfly pupa (often called chrysalis) and then the birth of amazing butterflies. The kids would then whisper a wish “upon their wings” and release the butterflies. For years this has been one of the great Australian traditions. Unfortunately, with people moving to the cities and swan plants being eradicated the custom has all but disappeared.

In a bid to resurrect this tradition, Butterfly Adventures has worked hard to come up with an easy to use Chrysalis Kit that would allow you and your significant others to experience the magic of the butterfly birth, learn about their life cycle, make a wish and do your bit to re-establish the population of beautiful Monarchs in Australia.