If you're planning on traveling in the United States or Canada in the coming year then a trip to a butterfly conservatory is certainly an interesting way to spend a day. I'm talking real live butterflies here, not ones pinned to some sort of display board in a museum somewhere. No, these are butterflies alive and flittering in all their magnificent color and design.

Two excellent examples of butterfly conservatories are those located in Key West, Florida and Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. Traveling to Key West is going to give you the great Florida tropical experience, with sun and sand, along with a chance to see flittering butterflies in all their finest. Traveling to Niagara Falls gives you the opportunity to see the thundering American and Canadian Waterfalls, a host of other attractions, and of course…those butterflies.

The Niagara Garden Trail Butterfly Conservatory features over 2000 tropical butterflies of varied sizes and color. Their facility has these butterflies roaming through the air amongst vibrant floral blossoms and lush greenery. It really is a rainforest setting that you will experience complete with ponds and waterfalls. Of course, there's that balmy temperature inside on a year-round basis, especially nice if you're looking for something to do if traveling in the winter.

The butterfly conservatory in Niagara Falls features an "Emergence Window". This is truly a beautiful sight to behold. Here, through this window, you can watch butterflies emerge from their pupae and take the initial flight of their lives. It's akin to seeing a newborn baby take their first steps into the world before them. This conservatory is open everyday of the year except for Christmas.

The Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory has 75 different species of butterflies. They also keep their conservatory in the temperature range of 85 degrees Fahrenheit with a relative humidity of 80 percent to mimic true tropical conditions. This can actually feel cool sometimes to Floridians. They have a computerized controlled weather system, which constantly monitors and controls temperature and relative humidity.

The largest butterflies at the Key West Conservatory are the Owl butterflies. The smallest there are the Pygmy Blue. In the Owl butterfly category, the female Queen Alexandra's Birdwing is considered the world's largest butterfly. It has a wingspan measuring up to 11 inches. The smaller Pygmy Blue's wingspan measures approximately half an inch.

With trips and holidays sometimes involving frantic paces and over-hyped modern attractions, it's sometimes good to get back to nature. Butterfly conservatories offer peaceful, tranquil, and at the same time exotic experiences. They certainly will expand your knowledge base, add some color into your life, and encourage you to appreciate the simple beauty around you.

Posted by Mike.