Butterflies Go Free in Montreal’s Botanical Garden!

Come see the beautiful and exotic butterflies at Montreal’s Botanical Garden’s annual Butterflies Go Free!

Photo of Butterfly at the Botanical Garden in Montreal Canada © ciprian.chiru

There are about 75 species at the Botanical Garden from around the world, including those from Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, United States, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Photo of Butterfly at the Botanical Garden in Montreal Canada © Zanastardust

About 15,000 butterflies will be released during Butterflies Go Free with around 100 being released every day.

Photo of Butterfly at the Botanical Garden in Montreal Canada © Manu_H

The butterflies live in a greenhouse before being released. The greenhouse is heated to 85 F (29 C) and filled with tropical flowers and plants. Visitors can stroll through this lush environment to see the butterflies up close. There are around 1500 butterflies in the greenhouse at a time

Photo of Butterfly at the Botanical Garden in Montreal Canada © Zanastardust

This year’s Butterflies Go Free theme is Butterfly Courtship. Visitors will learn all about the mating rituals and habits of butterflies.

Photo of Butterfly at the Botanical Garden in Montreal Canada © Zanastardust

Some interesting butterfly facts:

The oldest known butterfly fossel in the world is 90 million years old, which means butterflies have been inhabiting the earth for a very long time.

There are about 175,000 species of butterflies in the world.

Photo of Butterfly at the Botanical Garden in Montreal Canada © ciprian.chiru

Butterflies can live anywhere between a few days to about nine months.

Monarch butterflies are one of the few butterfly species that can live up to nine months.

Photo of Butterfly at the Botanical Garden in Montreal Canada © Zanastardust

Butterflies Go Free is open through April 25, 2011.

Montréal Botanical Garden
9:00 am to 5:00 pm Tuesday to Sunday
4101, rue Sherbrooke Est
Montréal Canada, H1X 2B2
+1 (514) 872-1400