Brilliant Butterflies

04/12/2026

Is the warm weather making you think of butterflies?

We will be opening mid-May... date TBD.

08/25/2025

Tiny and delicate.

The Northern crescent, a native often overlooked.

08/15/2025

Butterflies are very active today in the exhibit. Come see!

08/15/2025

We love a good salty snack, and butterflies are no different! They're not just sipping water from puddles. They're "puddling" for crucial minerals and salt, which they can't get from flower nectar alone.

Giant swallowtail puddling

08/13/2025

Tiger swallowtail female drinking from Pentas.

Want to bring all the butterflies to your yard? Plant pentas! No matter the color, these vibrant plants are a butterfly's dream. Each tiny, five-petaled bloom is like a little cup full of nectar, providing the perfect fuel for your favorite winged visitors.

"Pentas lanceolata" or "Egyptian Star Cluster"

08/04/2025

Flowers on the farm:

Sweet Joe Pye W**d (Eutrochium purpureum)
is a native plant that butterflies love this time of year.

In our area, it grows along the edge of woods and in oak openings. It establishes and spreads very easily from seed. Grows to 5'.

The WI DNR maintains a list of native plant nurseries throughout the Midwest that sell seeds and plants of this species and many others.

Link is through the WI extension:

https://fyi.extension.wisc.edu/wifdn/tools/wisconsin-native-plant-nurseries-map/

08/04/2025

We made it on the news! Click the link below to see:

https://www.wmtv15news.com/2025/08/03/exhibit-featuring-hundreds-live-butterflies-opens-wisconsin-dells/ okay

Brilliant Butterflies, a new exhibit in Wisconsin dells featuring hundreds of live butterflies, opened in Wisconsin Dells this summer.