Family FUN
Nursery
Butterfly Encounter
Butterflies land on your fingertip and
even your nose at this Oviedo attraction!
By Margie Sloane
W
e pulled into the crunchy gravel
parking lot at Lukas Nursery &
Butterfly Encounter in Oviedo,
Florida with a sense of adventure. My
grandkids and I were about to embark on a
tropical adventure and become one with the
butterfly and its habitat.
In 2004, the owners of Lukas Nursery,
a fourth generation agricultural mecca
for Central Florida homeowners, opened
the year-round Butterfly Encounter.
Currently ranked as one of the 25 largest
tourist attractions in Central Florida, it has
expanded to 4,000 square feet and is one
of the largest butterfly conservatories in the
state with more native varieties of butterflies
that any other.
We listened intently to the instructions
from the staff butterfly expert on what to
expect once we entered the enclosure. My
grandkids fired back questions such as:
“Do butterflies bite?” “What do butterflies
like to eat?” “Will a butterfly land on my
head?”
morning sun and soon were fluttering
around our heads. My kids were thrilled
to get up close and personal and be able to
identify the delicate creatures that perched
on the colorful blooms.
Armed with a camera (what grandparent
would be without one?) and a butterfly
guide to help us identify what we might see,
we stepped into what is likely a butterfly’s
dream residence. The screened enclosure
was filled with butterfly-friendly tropical
plants that draped from trellises and over
pathways. Since my grandkids are so close
to the ground, the first thing that caught
their eye was movement in the bushes at
their feet. A covey of button quail scurried
past our toes…tiny birds introduced to the
conservatory to keep the bugs in check.
The butterflies were waking up to the early
After spending time among these
winged wonders, we found ourselves at the
butterfly feeding room, an enclosure within
the big enclosure where butterflies happily
sit on any finger that has been dipped into a
special nectar-like juice that butterflies love
to sip. Butterflies landed all over the kids
and they were amazed to get such a close
look at the incredible details on the wings
and see how they take in nourishment.
Families that enjoy butterflies typically
like birds as well, so Lukas Butterfly
Encounter offers an exciting bird experience
for visitors. We stepped into the plant-filled
“Do butterflies bite?” “What do butterflies like to eat?”
“Will a butterfly land on my head?”
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ORLANDO FAMILY MAGAZINE
APRIL 2012