The Butterflies Are Flying Free At Montréal Insectarium

By Karine Jalbert 

Montreal, Canada - The 12th annual Butterflies Go Free exhibition put on by the Montréal Insectarium in partnership with the Botanical Garden opened and runs until April 26. This year, meet some butterflies of the Americas (new theme) and admire winged wonders of all kinds from Quebec and around the world. "Butterflies Go Free is a total immersion in the complex and fascinating world of butterflies. Roam through the Botanical Garden's Main Exhibition Greenhouse and learn more about these creatures' life cycles and ecological roles and the 'fair-trade' side of this event. We could sum it up as an urban eco-tourism experience!", says Charles-Mathieu Brunelle, Director of Montréal's Nature Museums.

Starring: Butterflies of the Americas
The Americas are home to the world's largest variety of butterfly and moth species. In Quebec alone there are 3,051 species. Here are a few of the stars of this year's Butterflies Go Free show:

LUNA MOTH - Actias luna - Quebec
A luna moth is an ephemeral beauty that lives only 4 to 10 days after reaching the adult stage. It has no mouth parts, and so is unable to eat.
It lives just long enough to breed and lay its eggs!

CECROPIA MOTH - Hyalophora cecropia - Quebec A cecropia moth can have a wingspan of up to 17 cm, making it the largest insect in the province. Thanks to their enormous feathery antennae, males can detect a female's scent up to 8 km away!

The cradle of fair-trade butterfly farming The Americas are renowned not only for the diversity of their butterflies and moths. This is also where the first butterfly farms were established in the early 1980s, in Costa Rica. The Montréal Insectarium carefully selects its suppliers in order to choose "fair-trade" butterflies and support local and international environmental protection and communities.

The first Butterflies Go Free ALL-NIGHTER In conjunction with the MONTREAL HIGH LIGHTS Festival All-Nighter, February 28, 2009, until 2 a.m.
A great opportunity to see these winged beauties in a completely different light!

Butterflies Go Free 2009
February 19 to April 26 - Tuesday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Open Mondays, February 23 (school break), March 2 (school break) and April
13 (Easter)

General information and rates: 514 872-1400 / museumsnature.ca