Dr. Bill Roston Native Butterfly House

This is the only native butterfly house in Missouri that operates from mid-May through September. We are here dedicated to the conservation of our dwindling number of native butterflies—these are the butterflies you might see in your own gardens. The Butterfly House looks like a greenhouse, but instead of glass it is covered in fine netting that keeps the butterflies inside for your enjoyment. What you will discover in the house is the life cycle of our most common Ozark butterflies. Inside, are thirty types of host plants, on which the female butterfly can lay eggs. You can see the butterflies laying their eggs; you can see the caterpillars emerge and develop into pupa. You may even see the magic moment when the adult butterfly emerges from the pupa. There is literature available to assist you in your education if a volunteer is not there to guide you through.