Butterfly Place leaves visitors aflutter

WESTFORD, Mass. — The butterfly settled almost unnoticed on Tina Parks' braided hair. Its black-and-white wings stirred occasionally as a reminder that it was no mere fashion accessory.

Parks broke into a smile as other butterflies darted past her and flew among the flowers that fill The Butterfly Place, an indoor butterfly habitat.

"I look at them as living flowers," said Parks, a composer from Framingham who said she'd long wanted to visit. "I feel so blessed to be here with these beautiful creatures."

The paper kite butterfly that landed on Parks is native to southeast Asia and is one of hundreds from around the world that live in The Butterfly Place. The enclosed glass atrium holds 3,100 square feet of butterflies and the flowers that provide them with nectar.

The atrium was opened 15 years ago on the site of an old sand and gravel pit by a former microfilm executive who decided he'd rather grow butterflies. Today, 70,000 to 80,000 people visit the butterfly house annually.

"They are so fragile, they're so beautiful," said Sylvia Leslie, daughter of founder George Leslie and the atrium's education director. "I think that signifies to a lot of people the shortness and sweetness of life."

George Leslie had been an avid "lepidopterist" — a person who studies butterflies and moths — since childhood. He even invented a "hatching kit" that allows people to grow their own butterflies at home.

The hobby became a full-time job in 1990, when Leslie decided to take a leap and create a butterfly house modeled after similar buildings in Great Britain. The businesses were so rare, banks were reluctant to finance the venture, so Leslie used money from the sale of his company, his daughter said.

The Butterfly Place featured mainly domestic insects and moths during its early days, but expanded to include butterflies and moths from around the globe.

The increased variety required more plants because caterpillars will eat only specific vegetation, though they're far less picky about where they draw their nectar after they change into butterflies.

The garden must be kept near 80 degrees at all times, or the butterflies won't fly. Without sufficient heat, the butterflies can't properly use their wings, Leslie explained. That's why you sometimes see butterflies basking in the sunlight, she said.

The entire life cycle of the butterfly is about four to six weeks, with the final stage just a week or two, at most.