Butterfly World

Discovery and Wonder take Flight at the World's Largest Butterfly and Bird Park! It features "open-air" aviaries with a breathtaking display of 20,000 exotic butterflies and tropical birds from all around the world. Explore and interact with rare and delicate butterflies in a South Florida Tropical Rainforest. Discover metamorphosis in our Research Facility, where you will see all stages of the butterfly life cycle in a display that changes daily. Other highlights include Vine Maze, Butterfly Museum and Insectarium, Live Bug Zoo, Lorikeet Encounter, where you can hand-feed small parrots, Swinging Suspension Bridge, Botanical Gardens, Gift and Plant Shop, Outdoor Cafés, and more. Butterfly World is the perfect adventure for the whole family! 

Butterfly World is the result of one man's hobby gone wild. Born to Dutch immigrants, Ronald Boender grew up in Illinois and had always been fascinated by butterflies, beginning with the cabbage whites, black swallowtails, and silk moths he found while growing up on his father's farm.

He moved to Florida in 1968. After retiring from a successful career as an electrical engineer, he decided to actively pursue his interest in butterflies, starting by raising local butterflies and butterfly-friendly plants in small numbers at his home.

When he learned there was a market for "farmed" butterflies for sale to Universities and Zoos, Boender established MetaScience Co., a commercial butterfly farm, in 1984. The staff produced up to 1000 butterfly pupae per week and established methods of butterfly rearing that are still in use at Butterfly World.

During this time, Boender also learned about attractions called "butterfly houses" that were springing up overseas, particularly in the United Kingdom. Intrigued by the possibilities, He went to England in 1985 and met Clive Farrell, founder and owner of the London Butterfly House. They became friends and soon partners in the venture that became Butterfly World, the first butterfly house in the United States and the largest in the world.

Opening day was March 28, 1988, with Butterfly World encompassing 3 acres of butterfly aviaries, botanical gardens, and the working butterfly farm and research center that Boender had worked years to establish. In the years that have followed, the park has expanded to include two additional aviaries for tropical birds, an interactive lorikeet encounter, and a skilled aviculture care and research staff to support these endeavors.

Besides the park, Boender and Butterfly World also established the North American "Bring Back the Butterflies" Campaign in 1988. This program aims to educate and provide free butterfly gardening materials tailored to each region to anyone interested in learning more. Wildly successful, it has become a phenomenon, resulting in the creation of thousands of new butterfly habitats and an increase in butterfly populations across the continent.

Boender has also been vigilant in his support of off-site research, utilizing Butterfly World's profits and expertise to establish the Boender Endangered Species Laboratory at the University of Florida. Working with scientists there, Butterfly World has played a crucial role in saving the endangered Schaus Swallowtail, a species of butterfly that is being reestablished in South Florida and may soon be removed from the endangered species list.

Visit today and learn why we have been called Spectacular Butterfly World since 1988! ❤️