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See an emerald swallowtail at the Como Conservatory's Blooming Butterflies exhibit.

It’s not every day  you see shimmery green stripes peeking out at you from between the leaves. At Como Park Zoo & Conservatory, you’ll not only see the emerald swallowtail butterfly, but hundreds of other winged creatures flitting about, too. The exhibit, Blooming Butterflies, is housed next to the conservatory in a giant tent shaped, appropriately, like a caterpillar.

The tent, shaped ever so cleverly like a caterpillar, for the Blooming Butterflies exhibit. (Photo courtesy of Como Park Zoo & Conservatory.)

I visited on a cloudy, drizzly day earlier this week and it was just the dose of nature I needed until the sun comes out again. On my way into the tent earlier this week, a volunteer stopped me at the door for a briefing.

“Do not touch the butterflies—let them come to you,” the volunteer explained. “Be careful of where you step. Butterflies may be on the walkway.” With that, he opened the doors leading to a butterfly wonderland. On trees, on flowers, flapping their delicate wings in the air—these winged beauties were everywhere!

Some people came with cameras and long lenses (no tripods allowed), zooming in to snap off what were sure to be gorgeous shots. I spotted a butterfly (or maybe a moth?) called the small postman with its bright red stripes on each black wing, a giant swallowtail, and at least seven or eight other varieties, too.

The exhibit is still waiting for a shipment of blue morphos from  South America. They’re probably the exhibit’s biggest draw, understandably. I saw these giant, fist-sized butterflies for myself when in Costa Rica years ago and I can’t wait to see them again… a good reason to return to the exhibit (with camera) in another month or so.

What: The Blooming Butterflies exhibit runs until Sept. 7, every day, from 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Where: Como Park Zoo & Conservatory, 1225 Estabrook Drive, Saint Paul, 55103

Getting There: Find detailed driving directions to Como Park here.

Parking: There is plenty of free parking, though depending on the day and time of your visit, you may need to drive around a few times to snag a spot. Here is a link to a map of Como’s grounds an parking lot if you want to plan ahead.