Learn from 2 experts about a special spot in Huntsville to escape into butterfly bliss

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Like thoughtful letters from loved ones, the butterflies who come to live at the expansive Purdy Butterfly House at Huntsville Botanical Garden (HBG) arrive individually in small, glass-like paper envelopes.

Winged messengers, indeed, butterflies carry remarkable meaning, possess unmatched beauty and hold critical value within ecosystems.

We recently visited with two of the butterflies’ stewards to learn more about their work with the butterflies and the best times for everyone to experience their magic. Read on for details.

Meet Karolina + Larry

Butterfly Monitor Larry Corpus and Horticulture Educator Karolina Sawicka are both relatively new to Huntsville, with Larry arriving in 2021 and Karolina in 2023.

While their backstories for choosing Huntsville are different, it’s easy to compare both trajectories to the metamorphosis process, with each experiencing a major career transition.

Larry’s story:

• After living and working as a biology and entomology professor in California, Washington, Mississippi, Kansas and most recently, Pennsylvania, Larry and his wife chose Huntsville to enjoy their retirement years.
• The couple first discovered the Rocket City in 2019 while visiting a longtime family friend who had chosen to retire here, and their son, who was then a teacher in Hamilton, Alabama.
• Once they moved, Larry began volunteering at the garden and has been a seasonal monitor for the past two years, around the time Karolina arrived.

Karolina’s story:

• A lifelong New Yorker, Karolina earned her degree in environmental science and sustainability with a minor in soil science before working for a hydroponics company.
• When the company cut its research department around the same time her partner also experienced a job loss, they decided, “You know what? We can go anywhere we want!” she says.
• Since they’d visited friends in Huntsville and loved it, they traveled back a couple more times, always visiting the garden, where they wondered, “What if we could work here?”
• Ultimately, they do—her partner in a mechanical role and she in her current position, overseeing a team that includes two gardeners and five butterfly monitors.
• They bought a home in Decatur, where she says they love being close to Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, and credits North Alabama for a “comfy, feels-like-home” vibe, plus easy access to larger metros.

Interested in a career at Huntsville Botanical Garden? Check out open positions here.

Meet the butterflies

The butterflies at HBG are special, living their best lives in a well-tended, enclosed space that’s among the largest of its kind in the country. In addition to the cultivated plants, the house has three feeders and plenty of water, Larry says, adding they also ensure the screens are maintained (squirrels!) and cleared of predators (spiders!).

Tips + a bit of butterfly etiquette from Larry:

⌚️Best time to visit: May through September, between 10AM and 3PM, the butterflies are most active. (Since they’re cold-blooded, they get out and absorb heat during this time before hitting 80 degrees and needing to cool down.)
👀 Look closely: Outside of that time, you’ll find many of the butterflies tucked under leaves, dropping that heat. Look, but don’t disrupt.
🌿 Stay on the path: The plant life is part of a delicate ecosystem, so do your part to keep the butterflies happy.
🫳 Don’t touch: You can hold out your hand—palm down—and allow a butterfly to land on you.
🧐 Check yourself before leaving: Make sure you don’t have any butterfly hitchhikers! They are required to stay in the enclosure, and there’s a mirror in the vestibule for close examination.

Besides the obvious beauty of the house and the butterflies themselves, you might wonder why else they’re here. It goes back to the garden’s mission of connecting people with plants, Karolina says.

“We connect people to plants through different avenues. Here, it’s through attracting positive insects to your garden, just like if you’re walking through and appreciating the beautiful azaleas during their bloom time. We try to hit different angles to inspire people, because not everyone has the same interests and goals for what they want to bring to their own garden.

“And then sometimes you just need to slow down, and going into the butterfly house on a quiet day and just sitting there and observing is wonderful also. Being able to do butterfly releases is also quite rewarding.”
_{Karolina Sawicka, HBG Horticulture Educator}

Learn more about all of the ecosystems within Huntsville Botanical Garden’s 118 acres here.

Butterfly release dates + deets

The garden team releases thousands of butterflies into the house throughout spring and summer—about 200 weekly—for visitors to enjoy and observe throughout the season, from May through September. While the house opens with the entire garden daily, it closes at 5PM Sunday-Wednesday and 7PM Thursday and Friday.

You can even attend and participate in some of the butterfly releases!

• Each 30-minute program starts with an educational presentation before releasing the butterflies into the habitat.
• These are popular sessions + require reservations to secure your spot.
• The cost is only $8 for garden members. Get your membership here.
• For non-members, the cost is $8 for children age 2 and under, $20 for children ages 3-15 and $27 for adults.

🦋 Butterfly release spots for 10AM or 11AM are still available for the following dates:

• June 28
• July 5 + 19
• August 2, 16 + 30
• September 13

💖 Heartwarming fact: You can also arrange with the garden for private releases to commemorate special events, such as weddings and celebrations of life.

🌿 Important note: In the off-season from October through April, you won’t find butterflies there, although you can enjoy the plant life and pretty environs.

Let us know when you go! We’d love to hear about your experience in the Purdy Butterfly House and what you learn on your visit to Huntsville Botanical Garden.

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