Bucharest Natural History Museum opens greenhouse with live tropical butterflies

The garden of the “Grigore Antipa” National Museum of Natural History in Bucharest announced the opening of a greenhouse with live tropical butterflies on Friday, June 20.

The new space is located in the museum’s courtyard and is populated by tropical butterflies that can be seen in free flight.

Among the butterflies are spectacular species like the lacewing (Cethosia biblis), the malachite butterfly (Siproeta stelenes), the emperor butterfly (Morpho peleides), the emerald swallowtail (Papilio palinurus), and one of the species from the group of the spectacular owl butterflies (Caligo sp).

None of the species on display is endangered. The pupae are exclusively sourced from specialized farms, not collected from the wild, and the “butterfly maternity,” or emergence room, replicates the temperature and humidity conditions typical of tropical habitats.

The same room also allows visitors to see the moment when a butterfly opens its wings for the first time, emerging from its chrysalis to begin a new stage of life.

Tickets are priced at RON 28 (EUR 5.5) for adults, RON 14 (EUR 3) for seniors, and RON 7 (EUR 1.2) for students, and can be purchased both at the museum reception and online. The greenhouse is also adapted for visitors with special needs.

The live exotic butterflies can be admired from Tuesday to Sunday between 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM (last entry at 5:30 PM).

(Photo source: Muzeul de Istorie Naturala Grigore Antipa on Facebook)