Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory

The place goes back to a butterfly gallery, the Butterfly Gallery, opened in 1992 by a local artist who had loved these insects since childhood: as a teenager he raised monarchs in New York State and he later took part in research on their migration to Mexico. According to two local vacation-rental websites, this space was enlarged in 2003, with a partner, to become the Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory; German Wikipedia gives the same founding year. The present art gallery, Wings of Imagination, shows butterflies that have lived out their adult lives, raised on farms in South America, Africa and Southeast Asia and sealed in acrylic cases.

The place evolved over the years into its present form, with 50 to 60 butterfly species, and stays open every day of the year. It also offers events: encounters with the flamingos, twilight tours, group visits and wedding ceremonies.

The official website presents a tropical habitat under a soaring glass dome, and Wikipedia describes a climate-controlled, glass-enclosed environment. The route starts at the learning centre, then crosses a habitat planted with trees and flowers, where a brook, a wooden bridge and a waterfall punctuate a looping path. According to German Wikipedia, a white pavilion with seating stands in the centre of the glasshouse.

The footprint of the whole building, gift shop and gallery included, measures about 780 m² on its OpenStreetMap outline.

The official website advertises hundreds of free-flying butterflies; sources give 50 to 60 species from around the world, more than 60 according to a tourism operator. Among the birds, Wikipedia names American flamingos, canaries, zebra finches, cordon-bleus and Chinese painted quail; the conservatory presents two flamingos, called Rhett and Scarlett. German Wikipedia adds fish and turtles.

In the learning centre, live caterpillars grow on their host plants, and a fifteen-minute film traces the butterfly life cycle.

The conservatory stands at the southern end of Duval Street, not far from the Southernmost Point buoy, the Southernmost House and South Beach; a trolley tour has a dedicated stop there. The conservatory is open every day of the year. A visit starts at the learning centre and its fifteen-minute film, which a tourism operator recommends seeing before the habitat; it suggests an hour or two on site.

According to the same operator, some species feed on the flowers in the morning, while the owl butterfly, the largest at the conservatory, comes out late in the day. Flamingo encounters, twilight tours, group visits and wedding ceremonies are booked in advance.