BUTTERFLY BEAUTY
When I was younger I used to like butterflies and dislike caterpillars. Little did I know that caterpillars transform into butterflies! Now as an adult I appreciate every stage a butterfly goes through before the transformation – egg, larvae, pupa, adult. I’ve learnt that just like in ‘butterfly life’ each stage in our life is important and even through the difficult stages in life e.g. job loss, pandemic, death, divorce, illness or exam failure we can still make something beautiful out of challenging situations. In Kenya, there are beautiful butterfly gardens in Nairobi Arboretum and in Arabuko Sokoke in Watamu, Kilifi county.
Benefits of butterfly gardens
The larvae caterpillar feeds on plants but with minimal damage, since when the larvae transforms into a butterfly, they fly from one flower to another, pollinate the plants, resulting in further development of plant species. The adult butterfly and larvae provide food for wildlife e.g. lizards and birds.
Travel Tips
- Take precaution if you have health issues and are usually uncomfortable with hot environment, consider keeping your visit short because butterfly houses are usually in humid environment, to mimic the butterflies’ native tropical habitat.
- Be careful when walking in the foot paths since butterflies sometimes rest on the ground, including on the pathways where you will be walking, to avoid stepping on them.
- When visiting a butterfly site, don’t pick flowers or handle the butterflies, unless a staff member at the site invites you to do so. Photograph butterflies from the front to capture a better view.
- Plan your visit to the butterfly tourism site early in the day when the butterflies are most active. On one hand you will observe older butterflies that look tattered, with missing or torn wings. On the other hand you will observe newly emerged butterflies with bright, bold colours. The emerging area is where you can watch new butterflies and moths break out of their pupal cases. It takes time so one may have to wait for a while to see one emerge, but it is well worth it.
- Take lots of pictures and you may also consider bringing a pair of binoculars for a better view of butterflies from different angles. Look for butterflies on feeding stations or flowers, where you might be able to get a good view of the feeding and you can witness pollination taking place.
“Today, wherever the road takes you, open your eyes. Instead of hurrying past what you’ve already seen, look again. Take time to appreciate the detail God has woven into nature” – Adage
