Mariposario de Benalmadena - Butterfly Park, Spain

Hello dear travelers. Today I'd like to share my visit to the butterfly park located in Benalmádena, a city in the south of Spain. The butterfly garden Mariposario is housed in a beautiful exotic building reminiscent of a fairytale Eastern temple in Thai style.

Inside the building there's a fountain shaped like Buddha's head and decorative sculptures and interior items in ancient Chinese style. Near the ticket booth we saw a giant Emerald Butterfly sculpture mimicking flight with its wings, antennae and legs. It was quite an interesting and impressive exhibit.

We really liked the decorative butterflies adorning the lobby walls and mirrors, creating a tropical garden atmosphere. The entrance ticket to the butterfly garden was 12 euros, but it cost 10 euros when purchased online from the park's website.

As soon as we stepped into the butterfly park we felt like we were in a paradise garden where giant butterflies of different species and colors were flying everywhere. While walking on the garden paths we could see exotic butterflies from around the world freely flying among flowers and greenery.

The garden houses approximately 1500 tropical butterflies and moths. You can observe the flight, feeding, reproduction and birth of butterflies in the garden.

The information boards at the Butterfly Park stated that the butterflies brought to the park come from various countries such as the Philippines, Malaysia, Costa Rica, Kenya, Bali and Thailand. They are captured in the wild and then brought to the butterfly park as larvae. They are examined in the park's laboratory, and exotic butterflies are born under controlled conditions.

The butterflies in the park are fed daily with artificial nectar prepared in the laboratory. Throughout the park there were special feeders mimicking open flowers from which butterflies drink sweet nectar. Fruits cut from different places were tied to trees, allowing fruit juices to flow, and butterflies eagerly fed on them. And we read that some butterfly species feed on the sap of specific trees.

In one tree unique nocturnal butterflies were living. These moths only fly at night. Surprisingly this moth family lacks a digestive system, so they don't eat anything. Therefore they only live for 4 to 6 days, whereas other butterfly species live longer. There were special magnifiers in the park for observing butterflies.

There were many beautiful tropical plants inside the garden, which are the basis of butterflies lives because they feed and reproduce on them. Each butterfly species requires specific plants for egg-laying, as the future caterpillar feeds on these plants. These plants are called host plants. The female butterfly must identify and find the host plant among the vast botanical diversity of the tropical forest, as this is essential for the survival of her offspring.

Inside there were small artificial ponds with fish, a waterfall and a bridge. It was very warm and humid inside because the park maintains a tropical climate environment. The temperature ranges from 24 to 29 degrees, with a relative humidity of 80%, which are ideal conditions mimicking the natural environment where butterflies live.

We climbed to the second floor from wooden stairs, where there were benches and a beautiful view of the garden and you could also observe the butterflies from above.

Mini tours were organized in the park where the features of butterflies were explained and larvae at different stages of development could be observed.

It was a big surprise to see a kangaroo sleeping among the birds and butterflies in the butterfly garden. It was called the Eugenie kangaroo, named after the island where these animals were first discovered. The Eugenie kangaroo is a very rare animal that lives mainly in some eastern and western regions of Australia, usually in reserves.

We also saw the red-legged tortoise. This is a species of land tortoise that feeds only on vegetables and fruits. The population of this species in the wild is decreasing, so it is endangered.

There was a classroom where educational activities were organized for student groups.

We also saw a souvenir shop in the butterfly park where jewelry, books, umbrellas, keychains and other items with butterfly images were sold.

We concluded our enjoyable visit to this beautiful tropical butterfly park and I wish everyone the opportunity to visit this amazing place.

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