Butterfly Kingdom Newsletter, Summer 2001

430 William Hilton Parkway, Pineland Station, Suite 511, Hilton Head Island, SC 29926

Phone: 843-671-3200 Fax: 843-342-2976
www.ButterflyKingdom.com

Butterfly Kingdom Emporium is gearing up for summer with a wonderful new selection of home accents, garden accessories and innovative and creative toys!

Thinking of bringing a little bit of nature into your home? Choose from our unique and exquisite selection of real butterfly art. We carry all sizes of plexiglass cases filled with real butterflies and wooden framed exotic species. We have a wonderful home

collection including platters, pillows, canisters, trivets, coasters and much more. All of our merchandise is uniquely decorated in some way with a butterfly, dragonfly, ladybug and other nature related themes. If you enjoy entertaining, try our butterfly wine charms, martini sets and ceramic serving trays.

Butterflies are obviously very important to us at Butterfly Kingdom Emporium, so we want to provide you with the best tools and knowledge to attract them to your garden. We always have a large selection of beautifully hand-painted butterfly houses and garden statuary. Our newest line of garden accessories includes brightly colored blown glass flowers wrapped in a copper stake, which provide drinking water for butterflies and hummingbirds, as well as sparkling glass hummingbird feeders. If you’re having trouble with your butterfly garden, we carry seeds and planting guides so you can do it yourself. Choose lanterns, candleholders, planters and wind chimes in all shapes, sizes and colors to accent your garden area while entertaining or just relaxing.

Toys are our specialty! Recently, one of our customers used the phrase “a grandmother’s dream” to describe our selection of toys and gifts for children. One of our favorite items is the Butterfly Pavilion, which is an incredible learning experience for children of all ages. This kit comes with a long butterfly net and a certificate for 10 live caterpillars. The amazing transformation of caterpillar to butterfly takes place before your eyes in your own home!

Some other great gift ideas include remote control spiders and snakes, painting kits, magnetic construction kits, and many more creative learning toys. We carry a wide variety of Gund stuffed animals and infant toys. For the toddler, we have umbrellas and rain boots decorated with ladybugs and butterflies. Lastly, we have a large book selection including pop-ups, sticker books, field guides and creative project guides.

There’s always something new at Butterfly Kingdom Emporium, for the serious enthusiast or the passerby. If you want to find something special, anything from a piece of jewelry to a beautiful cloisonné ornament, we have the store for you.

Butterfly Kingdom Emporium is located on Hilton Head Island, front and center at Pineland Station. Our store is open Monday through Saturday from 10 AM to 7 PM; Sundays, from 12 to 5 PM. Call us at (843) 689-6500 or visit us on the web at www.ButterflyKingdom.com.

Please join us every Thursday night between 6 to 8pm from July 12th through August 23rd for a “Summer Serenade” featuring recording artist Barry Johnson. Dine at one of our many unique restaurants including the newly opened Il Carpaccio and Juniper Café.

Butterfly Kingdom Ecotours

Butterfly Kingdom is pleased to offer a truly spectacular wildlife expedition to Tanzania and Kenya. No destination on Earth rivals the wildlife and habitat diversity of Tanzania and Kenya. Unparalleled wildlife observation and photographic opportunities abound on this outstanding safari to East Africa’s best-known and most distinguished parks and reserves. Superlative game drives in complete comfort and exceptional accommodations create the ambiance of a classic nineteenth-century expedition. From the finest safari lodges, and luxurious permanent and private tented camps, we embark on explorations of the Serengeti’s savannah grasslands, the floor of the Ngorongoro Crater, Mount Kilimanjaro, and Amboseli National Park, the soda lakes of the great rift valley, and the majestic peaks of Mount Kenya, and conclude our journey at Samburu Game Reserve in Kenya’s vast Northern Frontier. Safari host Dr. Edward M. Spevak, Butterfly Kingdom’s Chief Life Sciences Officer and former Assistant Curator of Mammals at the Bronx Zoo, has traveled East Africa and studied its wildlife extensively. Dr. Spevak will provide the background for understanding the ecology and history of these diverse habitats and their wildlife. With the romance of the African wilderness as our stage, we invite you to join us in the drama of an extraordinary safari adventure. This nature tour is organized and sponsored by Butterfly Kingdom and the non-profit INSTAR Center in cooperation with the South Carolina Aquarium and International Expeditions, Inc. the World Leader in Nature Travel. For more information or to sign up today, Please contact Dr. Ed Spevak at (843) 671-3200 or EcoTours@ButterflyKingdom.com

Butterfly Kingdom Facility Gets Underway

In May 2001, site preparation began for the 84,000 square foot Butterfly Kingdom facility at the intersection of Interstate 95 and Highway 278 in South Carolina. The complex project that includes the largest living butterfly conservatory in North America, an Insect Zoo, a Nocturnal Moth Exhibit, an Insect Discovery and Learning Center, a 3D Giant Screen Theater and 15 acres of landscaped gardens is on target to open in winter 2002-2003.

1. Giant Screen Theater: A 400-seat 3-D Giant Screen Theater featuring a 70-foot high screen and state-of-the-art Dolby surround sound for the ultimate immersive experience.

2. Butterfly Conservatory: A 75-foot-tall, 13,000 square foot glass conservatory shaped like a butterfly-highlighting tropical rainforest, savannah/grassland, and desert habitats complete with over 4,000 free-flying butterflies.

3. Insect Discovery and Learning Center: A state-of-the-art natural science education center featuring a variety of fascinating exhibits, computer interactive, multimedia displays, and an 80-seat theater. Functions as the perfect introduction for school groups and guests before entering the Butterfly Conservatory, Insect Zoo, and Empire of the Moth exhibit.

4. Botanical Gardens: Over 15 acres of beautifully landscaped exterior gardens designed to promote environmental awareness, fun, interactive learning, and the stunning beauty of the natural world.

5. Invertebrate, Science, Teaching and research (INSTAR) Center: A non-profit corporation that will oversee all of the on-site educational programming, distance learning and professional development opportunities, and conservation research at Butterfly Kingdom.

Exhibit Highlight: Realm of the Moth

Daytime turns to night. Trees loom in the semi-darkness. A full moon casts a silvery light. It is just bright enough to behold what has never before been seen in North America....

Butterfly Kingdom proudly presents the Realm of the Moth, a unique exhibit revealing a twilight scene where nighttime comes clearly into focus. Spectacular giant silk moths, some with wingspans of over ten inches, glide through the dark. In this seldom-glimpsed world, crickets and katydids fill the air with music; hawkmoths, the hummingbirds of the night, dart from flower-to-flower in search of nectar; thick-legged wolf spiders forage for food, and fireflies illuminate the darkness with amber flickers of light. It is a breathtaking and unforgettable scene of bioluminescent creatures and rarely seen denizens of the night.

Summer Butterfly Profile

The Palamedes Swallowtail is a common resident of the Lowcountry and one of our most easily observed butterflies. It is a strong and powerful flier, but readily stops to nectar at colorful flowers. Although a frequent garden visitor, the Palamedes Swallowtail seldom strays far from its preferred woodland home. It is readily distinguished from other swallowtails in the area by its large size and bold yellow striping. The sexes are similar.

Females deposit the small cream-colored eggs singly on the underside of host leaves. The young larvae are dark with a white saddle and resemble bird droppings. The mature larvae have a bulbous thorax and two large false eyespots that resemble the head of a snake or lizard. This fearsome appearance helps ward off potential predators. A full grown larva approaches 2.5 inches in length.

Scientific Name: Papilio palamedes

Family: Papilionidae

Wingspan: 3.5 to 5.5 inches

Habitat: The Palamedes Swallowtail can be found primarily in freshwater swamps, moist woodlands, suburban gardens, forest edges and adjacent open areas.

Broods: Many generations are produced each year

Garden Abundance: The butterfly is a common garden visitor.

Larval Host Plants: Red Bay (Persea borbonia) and Swamp Bay (Persea palustris)

Adult Nectar Sources: The butterfly utilized a large number of flowers but is particularly fond of thistles, pentas, verbena, phlox, and butterfly bush.

A New Vision for Education

The driving philosophy of Butterfly Kingdom -- and the very reason for its conception -- is to foster science education for all of our guests, especially for children. With this vision came the creation of the INSTAR (Invertebrate Science, Teaching, and Research) Center, an educational non-profit corporation that cultivates and manages the education and research within Butterfly Kingdom. The INSTAR Center's vision is "to advance environmental education, scientific investigation, and the conservation of biological diversity utilizing invertebrates as the primary catalyst."

Become Involved!

The INSTAR Center is a 501(c)(3) approved educational institution, and is the non-profit portion of the Butterfly Kingdom enterprise. By investing in the INSTAR Center, you play an integral role - through the provision of exciting exhibits and programs - in the conservation and preservation of our planet, and creation of in-house and outreach education programs. Funds designated for this educational center endow a healthier understanding of our world and all its inhabitants. Contributions can be designated in various ways, including: capital development, educational programming, and scientific research and conservation initiatives. For additional information please contact Dr. Barry Rosen at (843) 671-3200 or BRosen@ButterflyKingdom.com.