Butterfly World
By Goody Niosi

Butterfly World, Coombs, Vancouver Island

It’s impossible to walk into Butterfly World and not stop dead in your tracks, stand there slack-jawed and finally just say, “Wow.”

Nine times out of 10 that’s what happens.

And no wonder. You’ve just stepped out of the pretty mountain scenery of Vancouver Island into a hot, humid, tropical jungle alive with hundreds of darting, dancing, ballet-leaping exotic butterflies.

There’s a swallowtail doing a jig just above your head, an owl butterfly sipping nectar from a Day-Glo purple bougainvillea and if you stand quite still, that huge Blue Morpho will probably settle on your nose.

Photo: Butterfly World

Butterfly World in Coombs, just north of Nanaimo is the oldest Butterfly house in Canada and one of the most successful. It’s not just a tourist attraction, the staff say, it’s a real living, breathing, butterfly habitat where you can see the entire life cycle of these gorgeous creatures. You’ll spot the miniature eggs on the understands of palm leaves, the caterpillars munching on a giant banana frond and the pupae clinging to jasmine vines. You can watch adults emerging from their cocoons, gently drying their wings and eventually fluttering off into the welcoming jungle.

Troops of school children visit Butterfly World every day to marvel at the pool stocked with koi and lazy turtles, the tropical birds nesting in the bushes but most of all, at the fluttering creatures that seem like fairies come to life. Alongside the paths are interpretive signs and the helpful staff are always ready to tell you little known facts about butterflies.

Photo: Butterfly World

Like the fact that butterflies wake up at about 10 AM and go to sleep at 5 PM every day. And they hide under leaves when the sun isn’t shining because they think the monsoons are coming. And they sleep in the exact same place every night. And the fact that different species of butterflies have different tastes in food. Most of them sip on nectar but some eat rotting vegetables - which explains the cut-up bananas set out on the earth, and some feed on human perspiration - which may explain why that gorgeous orange Flambeau just landed on your ear.

Butterfly World in Coombs is open April through October, seven days a week 10 AM to 5 PM (4 PM in April and October) Phone 250-248-7026.

Written by
Goody Niosi
Freelance Writer
Nanaimo, BC
Email: gniosi@shaw.ca