The pace at Florida tourist attractions often borders on the hectic.
Standing in line with several hundred like-minded people for, say, a trip through the human body at Epcot or a ride in Busch Gardens` rapids that is likely to leave you drenching wet is not exactly restful.
But Florida does have one attraction that virtually commands its visitors to simply relax and enjoy.
Butterfly World, set in the midst of Tradewinds Park between Ft. Lauderdale and Boca Raton, is an oasis offering peace, quiet and beauty.
It has been open for little more than three years, yet already is the largest such center in the world. It had its origin in the hobby of an Illinois farm boy.
Ron Boender grew up on his family`s farm outside Lansing, Ill. and was always fascinated by the butterflies there.
Although his interest never waned, he had to put butterflies aside when he left home for Chicago to pursue his education and later his career in electrical engineering.
That took him to Hammond, Ind., for 11 years, then to Ft. Lauderdale, where in 1968 he started Melron Communications, which was involved with the installation of communications systems in schools and hospitals.
It was in the mid-`80s that his longtime interest in butterflies became consuming. He began cultivating plants that would attract butterflies to his home, and that triggered some serious observation.
Once the word spread about ”the butterfly man,” teachers began asking him for eggs and larvae. So Boender went about developing a metamorphosis kit for schools.
Then he became aware of a need for butterflies at universities and zoos, and in 1984 he founded MetaScience Co. and became a butterfly farmer.
A year later, in 1985, Boender went to England to visit the London Butterfly House and its founder and owner, Clive Farrell. He convinced Farrell to help him plan a similar attraction in Florida.
In 1988 Boender`s dream came true with the opening of Butterfly World.
Family business
Today, Butterfly World is something of a family operation. Boender`s wife Grace ”has helped from the beginning,” he says. She now is in charge of publicity. One of the Boenders` three daughters, Mary Jane, ”pretty much runs the place in my absence,” he said.
She also takes care of the educational aspects of the park, which attracts about 30,000 schoolchildren annually on field trips.
Even before reaching the park that is home to this exotic wonderland, the visitor is aware that here is something different. Rather than large billboards and highway mileage signs directing visitors to Butterfly World, there are small street signs reading simply, Butterfly World, with an arrow pointing in the appropriate direction.
There are several stops, beginning with the laboratory where caterpillars are turning into pupae as you watch. The day we were there, I counted 28 on the other side of the glass-enclosed room.
At the next stop you find yourself in a glorious forest of plants, flowers and butterflies-the Paradise Adventure Aviary.
Just as you begin to adjust to this visual wonder, you become aware of the classical music in the background that accompanies these marvelous creatures in flight.
The next partitioned area inside the clear glass dome is the Hanging Gardens and Emerging Area, where pupae and cocoons turn into butterflies and moths, species from all over the world.
A step through the hanging plastic strips that separate the various stops takes you into a simulated Tropical Rain Forest, complete with waterfall, where butterflies native to the tropics can be observed as they eat, fly and rest. It was here that one of these rare creatures landed on my shirt.
Butterfly fashion
My shirt, with colors much like the foliage in the area, obviously served the butterfly well as a resting place, for it remained for several minutes before flying on. Meanwhile, an employee was pointing out various species, their likenesses and differences.
Leaving the rain forest, you enter the Lakeside Garden Walk, which leads in turn to the English Rose Garden. Next is the Flowering Botanical Vine Arbor, which is stocked with vines from all over the world, along with the unusual butterflies that they attract.
A trip back inside-to a stand-alone building-takes the visitor into a museum and insectarium, with a fascinating collection of insects, butterflies and moths from around the world.
Until recently, Butterfly World also included a Milkweed Pasture and an area called Sulphur City, which were designed to attract particular butterflies.
”But that didn`t accomplish what we wanted,” Boender said. ”We found that with so many plants outside, the butterflies preferred to be found in other areas.”
As the tour concludes, there is a garden shop where normally difficult-to-find, butterfly-attracting plants may be purchased, and of course, a gift shop.
For the devotee of butterflies who is not yet ready to leave this idyllic spot, a canopied outdoor snack bar offers sandwiches, soft drinks and ice cream. And picnickers are welcome.
