May 11 - July 28, 2013

Tickets: $2 per person in addition to standard Garden admission

Walk among and learn about native butterflies.

See photos on our Facebook page from the Butterfly Pavilion at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden.

The Butterfly Pavilion at RSABG unites science education and hands-on fun for visitors of all ages. Hundreds of butterflies call the temporary enclosure home this spring and summer. Visitors can walk among the butterflies and caterpillars.

Adopt-a-Butterfly program Read more about your opportunity to symbolically adopt a butterfly at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden.

See caterpillars pupate into chrysalises and emerge as butterflies. As a steward of native plants of California, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden actively promotes the appreciation, understanding and conservation of native flora. Native plants are ideal for butterfly gardening because they provide food sources and in turn butterflies aid in flower pollination.

The 24’ x 36’ Butterfly Pavilion, erected near the Lantz Outdoor Classroom, is a temporary enclosure that combines science education and interactive fun for visitors of all ages. Visitors can walk among the butterflies and caterpillars as they feed. See caterpillars pupate into chrysalises and emerge as butterflies. The Garden is offering special educational workshops in conjunction with the exhibition to share how to nourish both common and threatened butterfly species in home gardens.

The discerning palate of caterpillars helps explain why so many butterfly species are threatened. The major cause of species disappearance in a given area is almost always habitat destruction and the elimination of the plants that they need to survive.

In spite of extensive urban sprawl, Southern California has many species of butterflies that are fairly abundant and easily attracted to flowers or food plants in local gardens.

For more information, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call (909) 625-8767. 

Download Butterfly Pavilion information packet (PDF).