The Butterfly Farm – Aruba

Disclosure: My family was provided complimentary admission to the farm.

While soaking up the sun and escaping our winter blues in Aruba we decided to try something different and check out the Butterfly Farm. The Butterfly Farm in Aruba was built in 1999 and a sister to the Butterfly farm in Saint Martin. Each farms has hundreds of exotic butterflies from all over the world as well as some caterpillars.​Aruba’s Butterfly Farm sits near Palm beach and is very easy to navigate to and operates daily from 8:30 – 4:30. Upon arriving we found parking and made our way to the gift shop/office and were welcomed by the staff.We were told a guided tour (which is included with the price of admission!) would be starting in a few minutes and our party could make our way into the protected area just outside of the gift shop. After walking through a door we went into a very large netted area where butterflies flew around freely among lush tropical plants and waterfalls, things that are not native to Aruba since it’s so dry but the perfect habitat for butterflies!!We waited less than 5 minutes for our tour to start. Our guide was a wealth of knowledge, answered all the questions the group had and even had us chuckling at times. The guided tour last approximately 20 minutes depending on how many questions are asked and afterward you are free to roam around the garden for as long as you wish. The entire “excursion” lasted about 45 minutes.We talked about the life stages of the butterfly, how long they live, caterpillars and mating.Did you know that once a female butterfly hatches her sole purpose is to mate? She can only mate with the same species of butterfly, same color, same everything. If a male butterfly of a different specie or color is able to trick a female into mating with him she will immediately die afterward. After successfully mating with the same specie/color butterfly the female will carry her eggs until she finds the perfect spot to lay them. After she lays her last egg her job is done and she dies.Have you ever seen a chrysalis before? They are so different and neat to see!!​Butterflies are most active during the morning and late afternoon/evening which is the best time to go if you want to see them flying around and feeding. The Butterfly Farm has many plants that the butterflies like to eat and also puts fresh fruit out each day for them to feast on. After their feeding time it’s known that the butterflies become “drunk” from all good eating and just lay around.All visitors are invited back with a return pass to explore the garden at another time during their stay on the island. I chatted with Tony, the owner, for a couple minutes and he mentioned he is at the farm every morning by about 7:30 and guests are welcome to come then with their coffee and sit, watch the butterflies hatch as they do every morning and enjoy watching butterflies fly around during their most active time of day.You are welcome to touch and gently handle the butterflies if you are lucky enough for one to land on you. They encourage bright colored clothing and citrus perfume to help attract the butterflies towards you in hopes they land on you.If you are planning on vacation to Aruba (or St. Martin) we would highly recommend taking an hour or two to visit The Butterfly Farm!