Give Me a Home
Where the Butterflies Roam

Photographs, Text and Mark-up by Michelle Baker

The Butterfly Habitat Garden at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History is a collaborative project by the Department of Entomology, Horticulture Services Division, the Department of Botany, and the Office of Exhibits.


Tiger Swallowtail, Papilio glaucus, feeding on the nectar of a Butterfly Bush, Buddleia davidii


In the summer of 1995, the National Museum of Natural History extended a special invitation to a unique population - butterflies.

Using the grounds between the museum and Washington's Ninth Street Tunnel, more than 100 host and nectar plants form a Butterfly Habitat Garden.

As a living exhibition, and the museum's first outdoor habitat, it has been host to many as 30 species of butterflies. (Eighty have been identified in the District of Columbia).

In addition to enhancing the beauty of the museum's grounds, the garden serves as an educational, interactive exhibit for the public. By dividing the garden into five areas - one introductory garden and four habitats - a variety of butterflies are attracted.

The four habitats are:

Illustrated placards describe each habitat, the life metamorphosis of butterflies, plant identification and the vital connection between insects and plants.

I had the pleasure (and challenge) of spending mornings studying and photographing the butterflies. Tempering my movements so as not to disturb their feeding, I was able to come within iinches of them to capture their minute, intricate beauty.

1. 2. 3.

4. 5.

  1. Tiger Swallowtail: Papilio glaucus
  2. Silver-spotted Skipper: Epargyreus clarus
  3. Cabbage White: Pieris rapae
  4. Sachem Skipper: Atalopedes rampestris
  5. Variegated Fritilliary Butterfly: Euptoieta claudia

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A Garden is a Microcosm

Michelle Baker lives and works in the San Francisco area. She was a 1995 summer intern in the National Museum of Natural History Branch of the Smithsonian's Office of Printing and Photographic Services.

How The Butterfly Habitat Garden Was Built

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Copyright © 1995 Smithsonian Institution. All rights reserved.