Butterfly Fruit Feeding Station

We recently installed a new feature in the Flight Encounter to provide fruit for the butterflies. Not all butterflies enjoy snacking on fruit, but some species actually prefer it. We've provided fruit in the past in other ways, including bowls and even a colander, but this new feeding station brings the butterfly activity to eye level for our guests, making for great photo opportunities.

This station was easy to make. We used a piece of grapevine wood from the Backwoods Nature Preserve, and created hooks with some heavy gauge copper wire. Fruit is changed daily, and includes oranges, mangoes, guavas, and bananas.

Florida butterflies that enjoy fruit include:

• Monarch
• Malachite
• Julia Longwing
• Red-Spotted Purple
• Red Admiral
• Mourning Cloak
• Painted Lady
• Question Mark
• Eastern Comma
• Viceroy