Starting Wednesday, visitors of the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park and Zoo will notice a new addition to their animal kingdom.
Attendees will be able to experience the sight of butterflies flying around the newly built Prairie Butterfly House.
“We had finished it just late this summer and as of yesterday, we got butterflies in,” zoo curator Janice McNernie told Global News.
Residents will be able to immerse themselves among the coloured species while walking along a garden trail.
“So when you walk in there, there’s going to be butterflies surrounding you. Maybe if you’re lucky, they might even sit on you,” McNernie said.
There is also an opportunity to witness the butterflies’ metamorphosis journey from start to end. Caterpillars are on site to form their chrysalides in their emerging chamber before growing their wings.
Currently living at the Prairie Butterfly House are the Compton Tortoise Shell Butterflies. The zoo says they plan to bring more species in the new year.
According to a statement from the city, signs are displayed throughout the exhibit to help visitors learn more about the species living at Prairie Butterfly House.
Families visiting the zoo Wednesday were excited to see the new feature at the park.
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“It’s diversity for the zoo,” Jenna Mettice said.
“You can get here and come up and personal with them, which is pretty cool,” she added.
McNernie urges Saskatchewanians to check out the exhibit as soon as they can, as the life cycle of the insects is short.
“Their lifecycle as an adult butterfly, and you may not know, is approximately two weeks,” McNernie said.
“We’re kind of in our introductory phase with the butterflies here. We hope that next year, we’re going to have multiple species come in,” she added.
Residents are able to check out the new Prairie Butterfly House during the zoo’s regular hours.