Enjoy a Tropical Christmas

The Christmas Butterfly. Photo courtesy of the Stratford Butterfly Farm.

Visitors can once again see the stunning Christmas Butterfly which will be flying at Stratford Butterfly Farm around the 21 December! With temperatures of 25°C, the popular family attraction is also the ideal place to enjoy a fabulous day out and escape the cold and wet. The primarily black and yellow Butterfly, also known as Papilio demodocus, is native to Africa, and has an average wingspan of 9 – 11cm. The caterpillars feed on citrus trees and hence are also known as the ‘Citrus Swallowtail’. 

The Christmas Butterfly is part of the Swallowtail family and sourced directly from butterfly farmers of the Kipepeo Project, a community enterprise based in and around the Arabuko-Sokoke forest in Kenya. Kipepeo is Swahili for butterfly and the project provides a sustainable income for the people of this area, demonstrating that conservation can be achieved whilst still earning a living.

Butterfly Lifecycle & Mini-Beast Demonstrations will take place daily at 11am in the Discovery Zone from 21 - 23 December and from 27 - 6 January. The team of experts will demonstrate from egg through to adult, the amazing stages of the butterfly life cycle as well as giving visitors the opportunity to handle a variety of Stick Insects.  

Lifecycle demo with Will. Photo courtesy of the Stratford Butterfly Farm.

Jane Kendrick, Marketing Manager at Stratford Butterfly Farm said, “Escape the winter chill and feel the festive warmth with us this year! The beautiful Christmas Butterfly along with thousands of tropical butterflies, is a must see in the Flight Area. With insects, lifecycle demonstrations, plus browsing in our nature inspired Gift Shop, the Butterfly Farm has all the ingredients for a truly tropical Christmas this year!” 

The Butterfly Farm’s Gift Shop is a treasure trove of ideas and a wonderful place to buy stocking fillers, Fair Trade and nature inspired presents. Gift vouchers for admission and season tickets are a lovely way to treat family and friends to a tropical rainforest experience and can be purchased from the website. 

To see hundreds of spectacular butterflies, insects, reptiles, and spiders visit the Butterfly Farm from 10am to 5pm, last entry 3.30pm. Open every day of the week except Christmas Day. For more information including purchasing gift vouchers, admission prices and group rates, please visit the website at www.butterflyfarm.co.uk or telephone on 01789 299288.