butterflies for real, not a garden decoration
Dozens of butterflies flying around your head at the same time is a physically different experience from anything you expect. The damp heat inside the greenhouse hits you right at the entrance, and the eggs, chrysalises and larvae are all visible at different stages of the cycle, not just the adult specimens everyone wants to photograph.
The Borboletário João Pedro Cardoso da Conceição, managed by the municipality of Cascais, is one of the few spaces of this kind in mainland Portugal where the full life cycle is happening in real time in front of you. It's not a static exhibition: species vary according to the time of year, and in certain months there are more chrysalises than visible adults, which completely changes the visit.
The space is integrated into the Cascais gardens, which means the transition between the controlled greenhouse environment and the green outside is immediate. You step out of the greenhouse and you're a few metres from a context that supports the same fauna you just saw inside.
how what you see will change depending on when you go
Spring brings a greater density of adults in flight, but summer shows more activity in the reproductive cycles. In autumn the number of species reduces, but the greenhouse is less crowded and easier to observe at a slow pace. Each visit is literally different from the last.
come prepared for
- heat and humidity inside the greenhouse, even on cold days outside
- butterflies landing on you without warning
- small children reacting in unexpected ways (for better and for worse)
