Butterfly House

Inaugurated on December 11, 1985, the Butterfly House at Melbourne Zoo was one of the very first free-flight butterfly houses installed at an Australian zoo. Beneath a tropical glasshouse kept at high temperature and humidity, hundreds of native and exotic butterflies move freely amid dense vegetation, just centimeters from visitors walking an interior boardwalk. The structure marked its 40th anniversary in 2025, prompting the zoo to offer an immersive experience and a show blending theater with entomological discovery. Melbourne Zoo, Australia's oldest zoo (1862), was thus a pioneer in integrating this kind of glazed pavilion dedicated to insects rather than to large animals alone. The Butterfly House remains today one of the zoo's most popular attractions, especially during guided butterfly-encounter experiences.