At home in the Butterfly House
Isabelle Pitt enjoys the wonders of the Butterfly House at Portsmouth's Cumberland House Natural History Museum
The moment I walked into the butterfly room in Portsmouth.the tropical heat hit me! The sounds of flapping wings gently invaded my ears. I smiled as it felt like a dream that came to life. As I walked more into the room, I could see and hear little children giggling and observing. The butterfly carer smiled at everyone who walked past. The atmosphere felt incredibly welcoming.
I travelled quietly and swiftly to the tropical green leaves. The bright orange butterfly was like a statue. It looked so beautiful and calm. Minutes passed and I was still just taking the whole atmosphere in! I looked down at my hands as I felt the delicate touch of feet from the butterfly. It was so still like I could hardly feel the butterfly anymore. I counted. I had 1, 2 , 3, 4 butterflies on my two hands! The sight of them made me keep ever so still. The butterflies were like glue. They wouldn’t fly off as I carried on walking. I tried to place them on the biggest leaf carefully. It was hard to place them as they didn’t want to go so the carer came over and helped. The carer was really nice and kind.
All the butterflies in the butterfly house come from central and South America. What’s nice is that in the butterfly room, there are ID sheets that tell you the history of the specific species of butterfly and can help you identify the ones you can see. Not only that, they have a special section for pupae (a butterfly that hasn’t grown yet). In the wild only 2% of pupae survive to become butterflies. While in the museum 80% of pupae survive because there are no predators! This butterfly house educates people about biodiversity.
Overall, this place is amazing if you love nature, animals and of course butterflies. I loved it there because it was so magical and had such a wonderful atmosphere. All the butterflies seemed so happy. What a wonderful place.
Isabelle Pitt, Year 9
The moment I walked into the butterfly room in Portsmouth.the tropical heat hit me! The sounds of flapping wings gently invaded my ears. I smiled as it felt like a dream that came to life. As I walked more into the room, I could see and hear little children giggling and observing. The butterfly carer smiled at everyone who walked past. The atmosphere felt incredibly welcoming.
I travelled quietly and swiftly to the tropical green leaves. The bright orange butterfly was like a statue. It looked so beautiful and calm. Minutes passed and I was still just taking the whole atmosphere in! I looked down at my hands as I felt the delicate touch of feet from the butterfly. It was so still like I could hardly feel the butterfly anymore. I counted. I had 1, 2 , 3, 4 butterflies on my two hands! The sight of them made me keep ever so still. The butterflies were like glue. They wouldn’t fly off as I carried on walking. I tried to place them on the biggest leaf carefully. It was hard to place them as they didn’t want to go so the carer came over and helped. The carer was really nice and kind.
All the butterflies in the butterfly house come from central and South America. What’s nice is that in the butterfly room, there are ID sheets that tell you the history of the specific species of butterfly and can help you identify the ones you can see. Not only that, they have a special section for pupae (a butterfly that hasn’t grown yet). In the wild only 2% of pupae survive to become butterflies. While in the museum 80% of pupae survive because there are no predators! This butterfly house educates people about biodiversity.
Overall, this place is amazing if you love nature, animals and of course butterflies. I loved it there because it was so magical and had such a wonderful atmosphere. All the butterflies seemed so happy. What a wonderful place.
Isabelle Pitt, Year 9