Europe’s largest artificial butterfly flight area: BUTTERFLY GARDEN

“Blue Morpho”, the most beautiful butterfly of tropical climates, and 14 more species are now in Turkey. “Konya Tropical Butterfly Garden”, which was opened in 2015, has the largest artificial butterfly flight area in Europe. It has nearly 40 species in the garden.

THE MOST FAVORITE BUTTERFLY OF THE GARDEN: BLUE MORPHO 

In fact, what makes Blue Morphos so special is their self-defense. This species of butterfly can grow to a very large size and therefore prey to predators. Now let’s see how the Blue Morphos defend themselves. 

Blue Morpho butterflies have a bright blue back. The black lines coming from the edges, on the other hand, intensify the focus. If a Blue Morpho feels in danger and the daylight is appropriate at that time, it comes to the appropriate angle with a split-second movement and reflects the sun from the bright field on its back, making itself invisible by making the hunter blind in a sense. Another feature is that the inside of its wings has evolved differently from the outside. With round patterns resembling owl-eyes on the inside of its wings and other areas of owl color, it rises towards the hunters and avoids the attack by giving the impression that the owl is coming to hunt it.

WHAT IS IN THE BUTTERFLY GARDEN?

Butterfly Flight Field 

A flight area of 1600 square meters, starting from the moment you enter, welcomes you. You are accompanied by butterflies as you walk through this area. The first thing to notice during this one-way walk is moisture. There is a humidity of up to 80%, which is artificially controlled inside the area. This provides the necessary moisture for tropical plants and butterflies to survive. This place is like a little Amazon. It consists of about 98 different-sized species. The garden, which is covered with glass in an oval shape, is naturally provided with sunlight all day long. During the tour, you proceed on the winding path rather than a straight line. This really gives you the feeling of walking around a forest rather than a standard museum. There is also a short cave pass along the route. 

Butterfly Museum 

You will be surprised how many butterfly species are in the section where there are butterfly models that have been found before or brought from elsewhere. First of all, there are stages of a butterfly in the part you come across. You can see all the stages of transition from egg to caterpillar, cocoon to butterfly step by step for each butterfly model. This area, protected by special chemical methods, really resembles a very unique library. In the second part, you can see the butterfly varieties arranged on the leaves. Then you will see the lanthorns where you can see similar butterfly species adapting to their natural habitats. The adaptation abilities of butterflies are quite surprising.

HOW TO GO TO BUTTERFLY GARDEN 

The butterfly garden is open between 09.30 and 17.30. The garden is closed on Mondays. People who want to come from the city center by public transport can use buses number 47 and 57. In addition, Fatih Işıklar minibuses can be used to go to the garden. It takes 10 minutes to go by car from the city center and 20 minutes from the railway station. The distances of the butterfly garden to the surrounding provinces are as follows; - 

Ankara 260 km  

Antalya 310 km 

Kayseri 300 km 

Eskisehir 325 km 

Izmir 550 km 

Istanbul 630 km 

Adana 350 km

Insect Area 

After passing the areas where the butterflies are located, you will have the opportunity to see the rooms and plates of other insect species that are related to the butterflies. Each room, which is divided into some main genres, contains simple, understandable and instructive information about that genre.

CAFETERIA AND SOUVENIRS AREA 

After passing all the areas, you come to the section prepared to rest, have a drink or buy a souvenir as a memory to your loved ones. After this point where you can find all kinds of gifts about the butterfly, we say goodbye to the area.