ATLANTA — The season is getting warmer now, marking the perfect time for the butterflies to spread their wings and start hovering in the air. Butterfly enthusiasts will be able to find them aplenty in the Chattahoochee Nature Center, as they'll be holding The Butterfly Festival on June 5-6.
The event is a celebration of the grand opening of the center's Butterfly Encounter, which will remain open through August 8. This North Atlanta tradition allows the visitors to enjoy seeing tons of butterflies flying around inside the enclosed greenhouse and learning about the pollinators' power.
All the visitors can have a chance to be closer to the butterflies by feeding them using a nectar stick. Every species of butterflies in the greenhouse is native to Georgia.
One of the prevalent and colorful species that visitors can find in the Butterfly Festival is the monarch butterfly. This butterfly is known for its longest distance migration — from northern America down to Mexico — each year. They also can travel up to 2,800 miles or more one way.
Visitors can also learn about the challenges that the nectar-feeding insects are facing. For example, as monarch butterflies prefer to lay their eggs on the milkweed plant, the decreasing number of the plant would reduce their population. Climate change further threatened the species as it disrupts their annual migration pattern.
Find out more about butterflies, pollinators, and plants at the Chattahoochee Nature Center. Tickets are timed and limited. The center suggests purchasing them in advance to guarantee admission. To get one, or for more information, visit their website at https://www.chattnaturecenter.org/special-events/butterfly-festival/.