One of my favorite stops during our time in the Ecuadorian cloud forest was at Mariposas de Mindo, a butterfly garden. At any time, this butterfly house houses up to 1,200 butterflies of 25 different species. A few summers ago, I volunteered at the butterfly house at the botanical gardens and we only had a fraction of this number.

In addition to the incredible display of active butterflies, there is a large display of chrysalises. Here you can study the various patterns and colors of the chrysalises and also watch butterflies emerge from them. There is nothing more awe inspiring than watching a butterfly spread it’s wings for the first time.

This collection is just a fraction of the incredible butterflies we observed during our visit.

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