Of course, this is just a condensed version of my "likes". However, if I were to sit down and write every little thing, person, and place that tickles my fancy, one entity would not make the cut.
Insects.
They never have made my list, and never will.
I remember playing outside as a child, and usually after about 15 minutes, no matter if I was at school or at home, a wasp or bee would chase me to tears. People around me would scream, "Just stand still. Don't run." Easy for them to say. They weren't the ones being terrorized by the winged demons.
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm a loving person, and I know that all of God's creatures have a purpose, but insects just bother me. They make little annoying noises as they fly around, arrogantly flapping their little wings and invading my space, as if they own the world.
It's the "invasion of space" part that makes me cringe. I don't mind them flying around, but why can't they do it in their own space? Why do they have to fly around my face, chill in my hair, and/or take a trip into my eyes? Get out of my space! My motto is "if you fly, bye."
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| The artwork leading into the Conservatory, introducing the Butterflies LIVE! exhibit |
It's with this attitude that I walked into the Butterflies Live! exhibit at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens in Richmond. The indoor exhibit has been presented off-and-on since 2004, and it features hundreds of butterflies in the garden's Conservatory. There, they're free to flutter around and do what they do best in a habitat designed to mimic what they would find in nature. It's a way for visitors to get an up close and personal experience with the colorful creatures.
However, butterflies are insects. So, for me, this trip was a bust before it even began.
You're probably asking yourself, "Well, why did you go?"
Here's the answer, smarty pants - I'm a television journalist, and sometimes, I have to go to uncomfortable places. Part of my job is to highlight exciting exhibits and events which are opening in the area. This exhibit fit the bill.
This was my first trip to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens. So, Jonah -the PR & Marketing Coordinator- gave my photographer and I a quick tour. Talk about exquisite! It is everything you would expect from a botanical garden and more - peaceful, immaculately groomed, and filled with stunning trees and plants that you have seen before, but never knew what they were called. It is one of the Richmond's most visited attractions with more than 50 acres of spectacular gardens, dining and shopping. In fact, the Travel Channel named it one of the best botanical gardens in the United States!
It features a variety of themed gardens, like the "Four Seasons Garden" that includes a "green man" and plants that remain attractive even during the off-season, and the "North Terrace Garden" that makes you feel as if all of your worries can be washed away in its inviting glazed-tile fountain. However, my favorite garden has to be the "Healing Garden". It consists of plants used for medicine and healing, and all of the plants together create such a calming fragrance - very fresh, clean, and rejuvenating. I stayed in this section as long as I could because I knew what my next stop would be- the Conservatory filled with butterflies. I needed all the physical and mental healing I could get.
The Conservatory is referred to as the "jewel of the garden", and it is a sight to see. Looking at it from a distance, it reminded me of all of the pictures I have seen of the great Taj Mahal- on a smaller scale. It is topped with a 63-foot dome, and depending on where you are in the gardens, it looms above the horizon with such grandeur.
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| Check out Jane's butterfly earrings! |
We entered the Conservatory and were met by a lady named Jane. She was one of the butterfly curators, and I could tell by her earrings, which were yellow and black butterflies.
Jane led the three of us into a vestibule surrounded by glass. She wanted to give us a few ground rules before going inside the exhibit. However, it was hard for me to listen to the rules because just beyond the glass, I could see hundreds of butterflies. Everywhere. They were flying around in the air, resting on the ground, and stealthily making their way across several plants, trying to blend in to where they couldn't be seen. But I could see them. And I know they could see me. In my mind, I could picture them plotting their attack.
The rules were simple: Be gentle. Do the "butterfly shuffle". (Butterflies land on the ground and sometimes stay there for awhile, so shuffle your feet when you walk in order not to step on them.) Don't be afraid because they won't bite. (Sure they won't...)
Once Jane finished giving the instructions, she opened one of the glass doors, and we followed her inside. We had to move in a hurry so the butterflies wouldn't fly out.
There was no turning back for me now. I had just entered THEIR world.
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| Butterfly poses for a quick picture. |
Surprisingly, they didn't carry out an attack. A few of them slowly made their way to me, flying over my head and around my legs. They were a bit cautious. Maybe because they were just as nervous meeting me as I was meeting them. They were slowly getting to know me, and they were allowing me to get to know them. As they continued their "close,but not too close" flight, mainly in pairs, I observed how beautiful these creatures really are.
Some of them were African natives, like the Forest Queen and the Mocker Swallowtail. Others, such as the Great Yellow Mormon and the Banded Peacock, were from Asia. Yet another group hailed from neotropical regions including Mexico, and Central and South Americas.
They came in all shapes, sizes, and colors (brilliant reds, blues, and oranges), and they seemed to be well aware of their beauty.I pulled out my camera to snap a few pictures of the ones circling around me, and others soon came out from nowhere, wanting their "fierceness" to be captured as well.
As I watched more than 400 butterflies make their way throughout the exhibit, I realized that we actually have a few things in common.
We like tropical weather. Butterflies are cold-blooded insects, so they prefer to live in any hot or warm climate. However, we differ when it comes to the "h" word- humidity. They thrive in high humidity (I don't), which is why the temperature in the exhibit room is set at 80 degrees with a fine mist that provides the perfect environment for them.
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| Butterflies enjoy feasting on rotten fruit. |
We like to eat fruit. I have been known to devour a juicy orange or a tasty banana. Butterflies like the same fruits. However, they like for their fruit to be rotten. Mmmm mmmm good! They really don't eat the fruit, but they suck the juice out of them. Juice from a rotten fruit is high in sugar and water content. Some of them actually prefer rotten fruit over nectar.
We like bright colors. I like to wear them; they like to land on them. They are attracted to bright colors because many bright flowers have sugary water and nectar for them to drink. So if you wear bright colors and a butterfly lands on you, he/she probably thinks it is time to feast!
The longer I stayed inside the exhibit, the more comfortable the butterflies became with me, and I became a BIT more comfortable with them. I noticed that they began to fly closer to my ears and to my face. Surprisingly, I didn't flinch or swat at them, nor did I take off running out of the exhibit in tears.
I started to understand what people were telling me years ago when they told me to "be still and don't run." When it comes to butterflies, it is best to just to stand there and watch them in action. They're quite peaceful in their brilliance, and in their own way, they encouraged me to be the same. If I had moved, I would have missed that message.
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| This beautiful Magnificent Owl (Caligo atreus) found a comfortable spot on my pants! |
I also think it was its way of letting me know that all insects are not alike. Some of them happen to be cool, and butterflies are part of that group.
Jane led us back into the vestibule, where she made us perform the "butterfly twirl" in front of a mirror. The twirl sounds like a new dance, but it is actually a way to prevent butterfly "hitchhiking." You twirl around in front of the mirror to make sure you don't have a little friend catching a ride on your hair, pants, shirt, or shoes, out of the exhibit.
After a few twirls and a final glance back into the exhibit, I decided that while most insects still won't make my "likes" list anytime soon, butterflies officially have.
I am a new fan.
What: Butterflies LIVE!
When: May 24-October 13, Daily, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Where: Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens, Richmond, VA
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