A Flighty Destination: Washington Island Butterfly House Opens
A Flighty Destination: Washington Island Butterfly House Opens
The Butterfly House, featuring moths and other insects, opens July 4th, 2011, at 1349 Main Road, Washington Island. A zoning permit has been received and permission granted from Irene Mostek, the present owner. The 100 year-old home hopes to become a destination for environmental teaching and learning. With live Polyphemus, Cecropia, Luna and Regalis caterpillars eating foraged Island maple, lilac and cherry, visitors will be able to sit in an antique pew (stationed in what was once the home’s dining room) and view the ravenous feeding of caterpillars as they prepare to pupate. Live butterflies will fly on the south sun porch amid plants. Monarch chrysalis will transform into butterflies and be released. Other moths, butterflies and insects will be added as the exhibit develops.
In past years Joe Ervin created and tended a moth and butterfly exhibit at the Art & Nature Center, which gained much interest from visitors and Island residents. “I grew up in Michigan and my mother collected moths and butterflies. She organized a neighborhood nature club for kids when I was a child,” Joe recalls. “Then, I read A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter, and began to learn more about moths.”
Washington Island Butterfly House
In preparation for the Washington Island Butterfly House, Joe and his family met with the director of the butterfly garden at the Milwaukee Public Museum. “We are not collecting butterflies at the Washington Island Butterfly House,” explains Joe, “we are gathering the caterpillars in a nursery setting for viewing and release.”
The home at 1349 Main Road lends itself for a larger display and demonstration than Joe was capable of presenting in the Art and Nature Center setting. Vestibules within the home, and doors separating interior rooms, will allow visitors an orientation venue in the original kitchen of the home, and entrance into an active butterfly garden through the dining and living room. A focal point of butterfly activity will be the bright sun-porch on the south side of the home.
Lake Adventures Uniting Nature and Children with Hospitality, (L.A.U.N.C.H.), Inc. is contributing to the Butterfly House project. Washington Island student Emily Dompke is the docent and naturalist for the 2011 season. Duties will include helping Joe to forage food plants, tending the live exhibit, and greeting and orienting visitors. An anonymous volunteer is repairing walls, stripping doors and painting the home to restore it to its original beauty and grace. The historic value of the home is an attraction in itself; built by the Klingenbergs a hundred years ago, the home is precious Island history.
“When we lived in my great grandmother’s home with our family, while renting from Mrs. Mostek,” Valerie explains, “I visited the butterfly museum at the Smithsonian in Washington DC. When I was in Seattle for my bone marrow transplant, I toured the butterfly gardens at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, Washington. With Joe’s knowledge and experience, I believe a butterfly house is a destination for Washington Island. My interest is to preserve the home and create a healing place of beauty following my cancer.”
When the Butterfly House opens on July 4th, hours are 11:00 – 2:00. Donations are appreciated and volunteers are welcome! Contact Valerie Fons, (920) 535-0077.
