Where curiosity grows wings.
At the Breck Chapin Memorial Native Species Butterfly House, discovery unfolds one wingbeat at a time. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. throughout the summer (weather permitting), this living classroom invites you to experience native butterflies and moths in every stage of their life cycle. Our knowledgeable staff and volunteers are on hand to help you identify the species you’ll see that day, share insights into their life cycles and migratory journeys, and highlight the plants that sustain them.
Frequently Asked Questions
The best time to view butterflies is the middle of the day on a warm day. Visitors are asked not to touch the butterflies, unless they choose to land on you. Also, do not wear bug repellent or sunscreens in the Butterfly House if you are hoping for a butterfly to land on you, since the butterfly could become sick from ingesting either.
What a visitor will see depends on the weather, time of the summer, and the time of day. Canadian Tiger Swallowtails are an early summer butterfly which enjoys drinking lilac nectar. Monarchs can usually be seen all summer because VIC staff and volunteers raise them throughout the summer in the Butterfly House, providing multiple generations. Recent warmer and more humid summers have impacted the timing of some species, including the late-summer timing for Monarch Butterflies ready to migrate south to Mexico.
We welcome groups of any size. We do limit the number of visitors inside the Butterfly House to about a dozen individuals at a time, as a larger number is not safe for the butterflies and moths. However, we are happy to work with you to stagger the members of your group so that the butterflies and you can all have a great time.
One of the main goals of the VIC is to provide information on these colorful insects. Please stop by our butterfly house or front desk and talk to a naturalist about any questions or photos you’d like to share.
Contact Us
Paul Smith's College Visitor Interpretive Center