It may be cold outside, so why don’t you escape to somewhere warm and wonderful? Head to Melbourne Zoo and take refuge inside the beautiful Butterfly House. There, you’ll find a colourful paradise, filled with around 600 gorgeous butterflies. And now, two new species have been introduced to the Butterfly House, so you can discover something new while you’re there.
Butterfly House at Melbourne Zoo
The Chocolate Argus and Red Lacewing are two new species of butterfly at Melbourne Zoo. Including these additions, there are now almost a dozen individual species to meet.
According to Melbourne Zoo Invertebrates Keeper Melvin Nathan, the Butterfly House is generally between 26 and 28 degrees Celsius, the perfect toasty escape this winter. “When you go in you experience this wonderful, colourful environment and all these amazing creatures flying all around you,” he said.
“Whenever we get a new species of butterfly in, it does add to the colour of the house,” he added. “The Chocolate Argus is a tiny brown butterfly with beautiful orange spots on them. And when they close their wings, they have little pink streaks through their wings as well.”
However, Nathan says that the Chocolate Argus can be quite difficult to spot. When they close their wings, they resemble a dead leaf.
As for the Red Lacewing, they look similar to the Orange Lacewings that are already in the House. “However, they are a little larger and, as the name suggests, have more red throughout their wings,” said Nathan.
To visit the Butterfly House, you will need to pre-book a ticket to Melbourne Zoo online. Members of Zoos Victoria no longer need to book, but, they will need to scan their Membership card for entry.