Join the Alachua County Library District this summer for fun butterfly crafts, activities, and a live display.
Patrons can visit the Headquarters Library to watch caterpillars from the Florida Museum of Natural History munch on their favorite plants as they prepare to transform into chrysalises, then moths, and butterflies. In a partnership with the museum's new Science Up Close: Incredible Insects exhibit, museum staff are providing live caterpillars for our display throughout the summer, so library patrons can watch the insects metamorphosis.
If you want to see a preview of museum and library staff setting up the butterfly display take a look at a this fun video of the butterfly display at the Headquarters Library.
Check out a few of the Library's many books about butterflies or attend a butterfly program and enjoy learning about these fascinating creatures.
- Butterfly Books for Children
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Butterfly Counting by Jerry Pallotta
Combines art and skill-building text in a fact-filled introduction to twenty-six types of butterflies from different world regions.
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Butterfly for a King: Saving Hawaii's Kamehameha Butterflies by Susan Roth
A combined history of the Hawaiian islands and the native Kamehameha butterfly up to and including current-day efforts of Hawaiʻi's Pulelehua Project.
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Caterpillar and Bean by Martin Jenkins
What's that wedged in a crack in the ground, small and hard and wrinkly and brown? A bean seed! Soon it develops roots and leaves. And what's that on the leaf? An egg! The egg hatches a caterpillar, and the caterpillar eats the leaves, getting bigger and bigger until it forms a chrysalis.
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My Book of Butterflies by Geraldo Valerio
Author Geraldo Valério grew up in Brazil, watching white butterflies visit the vegetable patch behind his house. As he got older, he learned more about these unique and beautiful insects, which can be found on every continent except Antarctica. In this gorgeous album, Geraldo presents his favorite butterfly species from around the world.
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The Story of a Butterfly; Learn About the Life Cycle and Habitat of the Painted Lady by Margaret Rose Reed
Following along with this class field trip for a study on this popular butterfly, encouraging children toward curiosity and exploration, and ending with a call to make the earth more accessible for everyone from humans to the tiniest bug.
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What’s Inside a Caterpillar Cocoon; and other questions about moths and butterflies by Rachel Ignotofsky
Butterflies soar in the sunlight. While moths flutter under the moon and stars. Find out more about these mysterious and majestic insects' similarities and differences, and their awe-stricking metamorphosis.
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Winged Wonders: Solving the Monarch Migration Mystery by Meeg Pincus
Monarch butterflies swooped through and people wondered, "Where do they go?" In 1976 the world learned: after migrating, the monarchs roost by the millions in an oyamel grove in Mexico. This was a mystery that could only be solved when people worked as a team.
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Waiting for Wings by Lois EhlertLois Ehlert follows the life cycle of four common butterflies, from their beginnings as tiny hidden eggs and hungry caterpillars to their transformation into full-grown butterflies. butterfly and flower facts and identification tips, as well as a guide to planting a butterfly garden.
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Hello, Little One: A Monarch Butterfly Story by Zeena Pliska
Caterpillar crawls from leaf to leaf, eating and waiting, all alone in a big, green world. Then Orange appears--Orange floats, and flits, and flies, graceful and beautiful. In this sweet, moving story of intergenerational friendship, a small caterpillar is befriended by a glorious monarch butterfly, and together they learn to see the world through each other’s eyes.
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The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Follows the progress of a hungry little caterpillar as he eats his way through a varied and very large quantity of food until, full at last, he forms a cocoon around himself and goes to sleep. Die-cut pages illustrate what the caterpillar ate on successive days.
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Senorita Mariposa by Ben Gundersheimer
Illustrations and easy-to-read text in English and Spanish follow monarch butterflies on their journey from Canada to Mexico. Includes author's note on how to help protect monarch butterflies.
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Butterfly Books for Adults
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Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects by Scott Hoffman Black
Gardeners will learn why butterflies matter and what simple steps we can take to make a difference. You'll learn how to choose the right plants, how to design a butterfly-friendly garden, and how to create a garden that flutters and flourishes with life.
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The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Butterflies by Robert Michael Pyle
Describes the habitat, behavior, range, and developmental stages of native butterflies, native skippers, and migrating tropical butterflies.
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Pollinator Friendly Gardening: Gardening for Bees, Butterflies, and Other Pollinators by Rhonda Fleming Hayes
Stow your pesticides and learn how to foster a beautiful, healthy garden that attracts bees, butterflies, birds, and other pollinators. Hays explains the synergy between plants and pollinators. She helps you make the right choices for plant selection, nutrients, growing practices and so much more.
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One Hundred Butterflies by Harold Feinstein
This photographic tribute to the butterfly highlights the color, vibrancy and patterns of one hundred ornate varieties including the Blue Morpho, the African Birdwing, and the Asian Swallowtail.
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The illustrated world encyclopedia of butterflies & moths by Sally Morgan
Profiles over 565 of the world's butterflies, moths, and their caterpillars, with each entry containing identification notes and quick-reference panels on distribution, habitat, food, and wingspan.
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Butterflies of North America by Jeffrey Glassberg
Provides information on identifying, attracting, and observing butterflies, and identifies North American species.
Butterfly Programs at the Library
Summer STEAM: Flutterbies — Thursday, June 20, 3-4 p.m. at the Headquarters Library
Summer at the Library: You Give Me Butterflies — Saturday, July 6, 1-2 p.m. at the Millhopper Branch
Summer STEAM: Flutterbies — Thursday, July 18, 3-4 p.m. at the Headquarters Library