El Castillo Butterfly Conservatory: An Explainer
When you’re visiting us at Volcano Watersports, hopefully you’ll have plenty of time to explore the local area and experience all of the wonders that El Castillo has to share. Some of these wonders, believe it or not, are insects. Very pretty insects. But insects all the same.
Known for its gorgeous natural wildlife, Costa Rica is a haven for a massive butterfly population, with one of the most significant butterfly-centric regions being El Castillo. This is due to the infamous El Castillo Butterfly Conservatory, which is the largest exhibition of butterflies in the country. Created to ensure preservation and growth, this nature regeneration project has been protecting and studying butterflies since its inception in the 1960s, and it’s open to visitors year-round.
After you experience our boat rentals, this is the perfect place to go to immerse yourself deeper into the Costa Rican wildlife, with some fascinating insights into the life of butterflies and our sustainable ecosystem as a whole. With this in mind, here’s a brief explainer of the El Castillo Butterfly Conservatory and the many butterflies that have made this beautiful country their home.
El Castillo Butterfly Conservatory
Containing four ecological habitats, the El Castillo Butterfly Conservatory takes visitors through the butterfly’s incredible life cycle, with the chance to see how the butterflies are born and raised in the laboratory. As well as this, the tour will involve a walk around the sanctuary’s botanical gardens, reproduction greenhouses, and medicinal herb areas, finishing with a rainforest ‘River Walk’.
The greenhouse walks, specifically, are worth the ticket alone. It’s one thing coming across a couple of these butterflies in the wild, and quite another walking through massive greenhouses, filled with numerous different species fluttering their wings around you. And it’s not just butterflies you will come across. The sanctuary is also known for its wide variety of Costa Rican frogs and birds, including red-eyed tree frogs and hummingbirds, which you can find enjoying the weather in the gorgeous botanical gardens.
Costa Rica’s Butterflies
Throughout Costa Rica, there are as many as 1,500 different species of butterfly, as well as 12,000 species of moths. Because Costa Rica is a geographical bridge between North and South America, it has a fascinating mix of species from both continents – resulting in a beautiful blend of Nearctic and neotropical species, which are so colourful that they’re named ‘flying jewels’ by the locals. Some of the most distinctive include the Blue Morpho – as pictured below the title of this article – the Zebra Longwing – recognisable by its distinctive white and black stripes – and the Owl butterfly – which has extraordinary patterns like an owl’s eye.
Butterflies in Costa Rica are known for their migration patterns, with the Monarch butterfly – recognisable by its bright orange colours – using the country as a quick pit stop on its way from Canada to southwestern Mexico. They also play a crucial role in the country’s ecosystem, providing a range of environmental benefits like pollination and pest control. Apart from the conservatory, other popular places to spot butterflies in Costa Rica include the La Paz Waterfall Gardens, the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, and anywhere around Arenal Volcano!
If you’re visiting us at Volcano Watersports, but don’t have time to visit the conservatory, you can still keep your eye open for around 20 regional species – all of which are regularly sighted around each edge of Lake Arenal. These include the Blue Morpho, the Owl butterfly, the Small Postmans – recognisable by its tiny red stripes – and the Shadow butterfly – recognisable by its pitch black colour.
Why You Should Visit the Conservatory
One of the biggest reasons to visit the El Castillo Butterfly Conservatory, however, is the sustainable impact it is having on the country. Although deforestation has been drastically reduced in Costa Rica, it continues to be a big issue around the world, which is why the conservatory looks to raise money and educate visitors on the benefits of a rich, biodiverse ecosystem.
In this way, the conservatory is one of the most important educational resources out there, demonstrating exactly what can happen if environmentally damaging practices are shut down and life is allowed to regenerate. According to their website, the conservatory’s motto is to ‘think globally and act locally’, and this alone makes it a perfect showcase of the best of Costa Rica. For this reason, it’s a good idea to support the conservatory by giving it a visit and experiencing the wonders of the natural world with your own eyes. The butterflies are waiting for you there!