Milwaukee's Tropical Butterflies

The new Puelicher Butterfly Wing of the Milwaukee Public Museum has become the place to see some fancy flights this summer.

The highlight is a glass-enclosed tropical garden which serves as a showcase for a changing cast of 20 or more exotic species of butterfly from around the world. Visitors are free to wander through the garden and get as up close and personal as they can.

The gallery showcases only a fraction of the wealth of the museum's world-class collection of lepidoptera (the scientific category for moths and butterflies), which consists of more than 250,000 specimens. Begun more than a century ago, the collection serves as a specimen repository for various studies involving lepidoptera.

The exhibit displays the full cycle of butterfly life, from crawling caterpillar to gliding burst of vibrant color. At the Transformation Center, the very patient observer can wait to watch new butterflies emerge from their cocoons.

A child at an interactive station. (WDJT-TV)

With its unique design and inviting garden, the opening of the Puelicher Butterfly Wing unqustionably marks a great leap forward for lepidoptera, and a learning opportunity for all the rest of us.