Butterfly Pavilion | Natural History Museum of Los Angeles

Butterfly Pavilion

April 10 through September 5, 2011

More than 55 different butterfly and moth species and an array of plants take up residence every summer for our much-anticipated seasonal exhibit, the Butterfly Pavilion. Wander through a unique changing and growing ecosystem. Witness wondrous free-flying creatures interacting with plant life and with each other and emerge with a better understanding of the environment needed for the survival of these spectacular animals. 

A Living Exhibit

By no means a static exhibit, the pavilion showcases the fascinating dance between butterflies and moths and the plants that surround them. These life forms have refined their impressive interaction over the course of millions of years. You’ll be able to see, up close, how butterflies use their tubular mouthparts to obtain nectar from flowers. You’ll witness caterpillars as they feed on plant leaves and go through the process of their transformation into adult butterflies. Various butterflies are present at different points during the season and the plants continue growing and changing throughout the process. This means that you can visit the Pavilion of Wings throughout the summer and have a different experience every time.

Butterflies from Near and Far

Some butterflies in the exhibit mate and lay eggs, however we regularly fill the pavilion with butterflies from all across the United States. Over half of the species we exhibit are oft-seen locals such as the monarch, mourning cloak and California dogface. Some of the more exotic butterflies are shipped in from all across the country.

Bringing Natural History Back to Life

Natural history museums work to understand the natural world by obtaining and studying specimens that they collect. We ask questions and learn: Why does it look like that, how does it fit into the natural world, why is it a successful species? We share the knowledge we gain through research, by creating new live environments such as the Pavilion to describe what we are studying behind-the-scenes in the museum’s lab or out in the field.

Curators' Favorites

California dogface

Zerene eurydice

This pretty sulfur butterfly has been designated our official state insect by the California State legislature. It can still be found in the foothills and lower mountain slopes where its larval host plant, false indigo, is common.  Only the male butterfly has the pattern of a dog’s head on its wing from which the species gets its common name.

Luna moth

Actias luna

Lunas are beautiful representatives of a moth family known as “the giant silk moths” because of their ability to spin an elaborate silken cocoon. One of the most popular species to find in the pavilion, lunas do not live much more than a week as an adult and do not even exhibit mouthparts during this stage of their life cycle.

Spicebush swallowtail

Pterourus troilus

These beautiful swallowtails are common in the eastern US where they are easily noticed because of their tendency to fly low and flap their wings slowly when visiting flowers for nectar. Their larvae are equally noticeable – a dark green caterpillar with two large eyespots on its back.