Prive´Jr’s: Butterflies!

Watch the transformation of two butterfly species from egg, to caterpillar, to butterfly over the next few weeks in the Children’s Playroom. Join us for an educational chat hosted by Millennium Tower’s own Heather Mahoney. She will discuss the different metamorphosis stages and the vital role humans play in ensuring that butterflies are here forever. 

Monarch butterflies live in North, Central, and South America. In addition to Australia, the Pacific Islands, India, and Western Europe. Their markings include bright orange wings covered with black veins and rimmed with a black border and white dots. Females have thicker veins in their branches. A monarch’s brilliant coloring tells predators: “Don’t eat me. I’m poisonous.” The butterflies get their toxins from a milkweed plant, their only food source in the caterpillar stage. An animal that eats a monarch butterfly usually does not die but feels sick enough to avoid monarchs in the future.

The most fantastic thing about North American monarch butterflies is their enormous yearly migration. Every fall, millions of these delicate insects leave their home range in Canada and the United States as cold weather approaches and begin flying south. They continue until they reach Southern California or Central Mexico, nearly 2,500 miles away!

The Western Monarch is the first insect placed on the endangered species list. Now is the most critical time to educate and spark the interest in the California Butterflies in young minds and intrigued adults. We encourage children and adults to visit the Children’s Playroom to check on the different stages of the transformation throughout September.

Please RSVP with the Club Concierge, so we may have an accurate count of how many children would like to participate in this fun educational experience.