No need to wait for those special butterfly shows any more -- The Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC has opened a permanent exhibit on butterflies and plants.
"Butterflies + Plants: Partners in Evolution" takes visitors on a journey of millions of years to demonstrate how butterflies and plants have evolved together. For example, moths originally chewed their food with small "teeth," and butterflies over time have developed colors that enable them to hide from predators.
Nate Irwin, the exhibit manager, says "Co-evolution tells us that all species -- even humans -- play a role in the evolution of the natural community. With the knowledge that 99 percent of all species that inhabited the Earth are now extinct, it is important that we all gain a better understanding of nature's complexity in order to conserve life as we know it today."
The exhibit's Live Butterfly Pavilion will feature more than 300-400 butterflies at any one time, interacting with different plants like jasmine, pentas, verbena, clerodendron, and many more. New butterflies will be introduced each week from Africa, Asia, and the Americas, so visitors are likely to see different species each time they visit. Just a few of the species that will be on display include clippers, morphos, owls, grey pansies, common sailors, blue glassy tigers, monarchs, tree nymphs, birdwings, queens and many others.
(image: Marilyn Aber, Smithsonian Institution)
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