While in New Orleans this past weekend I had the opportunity to meet the PR rep for the Audubon Nature Institute and she invited The Niche Mommy attendees to visit one of their parks.
- Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium
- Audubon Aquarium of the Americas
- Audubon Zoo
Jenn (MyBoysAndTheirToys.com) and I decided to visit the Butterfly Garden and Insectarium. I’m not sure what I thought I was going to see but it definitely didn’t include creepy crawly bugs (which I hate), lol.
Boy, was I wrong!
We saw foot long centipede, 5″ cockroaches, Athletic Ants (I don’t know…), and so many other bugs that I hope I never come in contact with again.
Audubon Buttefly Garden and Insectarium, located in the U.S. Custom House on Canal Street, encourages you to use all five senses as you explore North America’s largest museum devoted to insects and their relatives. You’ll discover why insects are the building blocks of all life on our planet and along the way, you’ll be shrunk to bug size; wander through a mysterious Louisiana swamp; join the active audience of an awards show for bugs, by bugs; and be captivated by thousands of butterflies in an Asian garden.
Here are a few of my favorites from the day.
A moth? I’m sure it has some technical name but I can’t remember.
The Harlequin Beetle - The Harlequin Beetle is a large tropical beetle with a variegated pattern of black, red, and yellow markings. Besides its pattern, this beetle is known for its extremely long forelegs which only the males possess.
Horn Beetle. This is a male. Females don’t have the long horns.
Ladybugs. Not sure why they were all grouped up like that but I love them.
Alligator. I named him Sammy.
This guy? Yeah NO THANKS!
Katydid.
Then, finally, after I fully felt like bugs were crawling all over me, we reached the free flight butterfly area!
We had such a great time at the Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium. I wish we had more time because the Aquarium and Zoo would have probably been fun as well.
Disclosure: I was invited as media to the Audubon Nature Institute . No other monetary compensation was received. All opinions are my own.
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Jen the pictures you captured are awesome! I’ve never been to anything like this before! The Ladybugs are my favorite too!
That wasp would freak me right out! Oh my word, that is huge! The butterfly garden looks nice though.
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I do not like bugs at all. The idea of ladybugs is much cuter than they actually are. Ew!
What a cool place, love the pictures. My son would love to go to a place like that!
All I have to say is, WOW about those ladybugs! What a fun experience for kids!
WOW! Looks like a cool experience but holy moly, I have a serious creepy crawly feeling now.
This would be awesome for my daughter, she has an obsession with insects and asks me to read her the insect book almost every evening!
The first time I went to a Butterfly Conservatory, I realized I can’t handle it, lol. They were landing on heads and I was terrified that they were on me too!
That would probably freak me out too. There weren’t THAT many butterflies in here so it wasn’t crazy like that. The majority is them stayed on the flowers or food
I’ve always been fascinated by insects. Love the moths/butterfly pics!
Nice photos!
Most of those would totally freak me out- but the butterflies are gorgeous!
That moth thing is freaking me out!!
my daughter was just invited to a birthday party at a similar place in Denver. I’m not sure I’m looking forward to it after seeing your pics!!
Ah, I wish we had one here. I love butterflies!
That tarantula wasp is horrible! This place looks beautiful, however I shamefully admit I’m afraid of butterflies
Those are some cool pictures, especially the ladybugs.
Beautiful photos!
It looks like fun..even with all the creepy bugs!
those are some crazy wild bugs
YIKES! A definite combination of heeby jeebies and “whoa cool!”
These photos are so cool!
Aweesome. Those ladybugs …so cooL!
Woah! Look at that beetle! I’ll have to check this out next time I’m in NO.
That is so cool! I would love to see something like that and I know my daughter would too!
Fascinating! Beautiful pictures.
The butterflies and lady bugs are great, everything else?! NO THANKS!
I love the butterflies.
I’m all for the butterfly part
Love the butterflies, insects…well they are not my thing LOL. My daughter would definitely enjoy it.
My girls would get a kick out of those ladybugs and butterflies!
The butterflies are beautiful! I’m a little freaked out by the other bugs tho!
oh believe me, I was saying, “ew”, “gross” and “get me out of here” more than once until we got to the butterfly area
HA! I can imagine!
Your photos are beautiful.
I’d love to visit one day, I love butterflies and cool insects!
I’m in Aaahhhh! You’re a fantastic photographer! Beautiful pictures of the gorgeous butterflies! No praying mantis?
Thank you for sharing your wonderful visit, I truly enjoyed this post!
kimbuckjr
Well thank you Kim.
There was a praying mantis tank there but we couldn’t see them because they were blending in with the leaves
I love all the photos, but the butterflies are definitely my favorite!
Such lovely photos, I bet you had a great time. The tarantula wasp? No thanks!
Great pictures! For some of the “over sized” creatures, I would freak out if I came across one!
What beautiful photos.
This was neat!