 The Monteverde Butterfly Garden is one of the top tourist attract-tions in the Monteverde area. Over 1300 different kinds of butterflies and 8000 kinds of moths are indigenous to Costa Rica and nearly a thousand of then are native to the Monteverde area. The Butterfly Garden at Monteverde has four separate gardens designed to showcase different species of butterfly shown in their specific environment throughout all of Costa Rica. Local species of butterfly are shown in large netted enclosures as they are already acclimated to Monteverde’s cool climate, other species are housed in glass houses designed to represent the different climates at low and mid elevations. The Monteverde Butterfly Museum also has a nature center which is home to a variety of other fascinating insect species, such as tarantulas and scorpions. Though butterflies and moths are common all thru the year the best time to observe butterflies in Costa Rica is during the rainy season, from June to November.
Costa Rican butterflies have an important role in the countries ecotourism programs as they are essential in the rain forest, not only as an amazing source of color, but for the role they play in the pollination of flowers. Costa Rica has such an amazing biodiversity – one of the twenty most bio-diverse countries on the planet, because of the merge of the Northern and Southern continents nearly five million years ago. This geological act created a “bridge” merging the flora and fauna of both continents to exist in this special place. This is one of the reasons that Costa Rica is the home for so many amazing butterfly and moth species.
 The Monteverde Butterfly Garden is not only interesting, but also, educational. The tour of the center begins with a video presentation entitled, “The Insects of Costa Rica” and then a guided tour which ex-plains the differences of the butterflies and moths from the different climatic regions of Costa Rica while allowing visitors to be surrounded by the beauty of the exhibits. After the tour, visitors can enjoy the beauty of the gardens or wander in to see the many exhibits of mounted insects as well as live butterflies and moths in mini versions of their natural habitat.
Naturalists are available throughout the center to provide information on the butterfly's importance and life cycle through the examination of eggs, caterpillars, pupae and adult butterflies. Butterflies are raised in many different greenhouses, and hundreds of different species can be seen in the screened garden. The beauty of the location and of the thousands of brilliantly colored butterflies and moths make for many photo opportuni-ties and visitors are encouraged to take advantage of the situation be shooting away.
The Monteverde Butterfly Garden is a must see on your visit to Monteverde. An average visit runs about two and a half hours and a guided tour is included with your visit. If you want to return, save your ticket stub and you can re-enter the gardens the next day for free. You may not walk away believing that all bugs and insects are beautiful, especially the giant cockroaches, but you will have a greater appreciation for their beauty and the important role that they play in the environment.
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