On my quest to tour some of Houston’s museums, I also decided to visit the Cockrell Butterfly Center in the Houston Museum of Natural Science, where they have a simulated rain forest for the butterflies and also insect displays.
Just inside the front door was this caterpillar. Great for the kids to climb on and for family photographs. I actually volunteered to take a photo for a family so they could all be in the picture. They were very grateful and the picture came out great.
The first thing to see was the insect section.
They had great information on display and several TV’s were playing educational videos.
These are Madagascar hissing cockroaches on display. You could tell this area was mainly for kids because the displays were low to the ground at kid level.
This display was a large beetle holding the Earth.
Here were some dung beetles and they had a video of them playing nearby.
This area had games for the kids to play and was a great place to spend some time if you were a parent.
This butterfly display was pretty cool.
They had a wasp nest on display. I’ve been stung by wasps before and its sucks.
This display of some more insects was neat to see with the animal skull in there.
In the Rain Forest area, you could see the butterflies.
And boy was it ever hot.
Seeing the butterflies eating was a nice sight.
There are 165,000 known species of butterflies found on every continent except Antarctica.
Butterflies vary in size. The largest species may reach 12 inches across, while the smallest may only be half an inch.
Some butterfly species lay their eggs on only one type of plant.
The process by which a caterpillar magically transforms into a butterfly, aka metamorphosis, is completed in 10 to 15 days, depending on the species.
Butterflies have a long, tube-like tongue called a proboscis that allows them to soak up their food rather than sip it.
Males drink from mud puddles to extract minerals that aren’t available in flowers. This behavior is known as “puddling.”
Some butterflies have been seen drinking blood from open wounds on animals.
The waterfall near the exit was the most scenic area in the Rain Forest.
Once back inside, there was more info about insects.
Here is a beekeepers uniform on display.
There was a large Vampire Mosquito to check out.
The Cat Flea display reminded me how gross fleas are.
It’s too bad they didn’t have some of these butterflies flying around the Rain Forest area.
I had read about this vending machine when I was researching the Butterfly Center.
It’s stocked with packaged insects, in case you wanted to eat some.
Scorpions anyone?
They had a bug recipe book on display.
And other items for you to serve at a party.
In another area for kids, they had this display set up to show what goes on in a beehive.
I’m sure lots of schools bring their students here.
Even though the insect section was mostly for kids and the Rain Forest didn’t have a large variety of butterflies to see, I still enjoyed my time at the center.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at the Cockrell Butterfly Center in Houston.
Spider Michaels
Spider Michaels 