Butterflies, moths flitter among visitors at Powell Gardens' Festival of Butterflies

People will have a chance to walk among hundreds of flittering butterflies and moths at Powell Gardens’ signature annual event, the Festival of Butterflies, which opened this weekend.

The festival, which started Friday, runs from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and it will return next weekend from Aug. 13 through 15.

Jill Draper, marketing and events associate for Powell Gardens, said this year’s festival includes an indoor exhibit with hundreds of free-flying butterflies and moths from the tropical United States and Costa Rica as well as two outdoor butterfly breezeways aflutter with native species.

“In both of these areas, the moths and butterflies are flying around freely, so you can be right among them,” Draper said.

With the emphasis of this year’s event on moths, Powell Gardens brought in cocoons of the world’s largest species of moth —the Attacus atlas, which can grow to a wingspan of nearly a foot — for the festival. Draper said organizers are still waiting for them to emerge from their cocoons and hoping that Mother Nature will help out with that part of the festival.

Alan Branhagen, director of horticulture, said organizers wanted to showcase moths this year because they are often overlooked as they are more active at night while butterflies are active during the day.

He said while some people dismiss moths as pests, their patterns are just as varied and they are just as important for pollinating flowers as butterflies.

“Very few of moths are really pests, and a lot of them are beautiful,” Branhagen said.

Along with the live exhibits, the festival also will feature various bug-themed artwork, Draper said.

At the Big Bugs exhibit, 11 huge sculptures made from natural materials will be displayed, highlighted by a 10-foot model of a Daddy Long Legs. Color prints by artist John Cody, who Draper said is known as the

“Audubon of moths,” also will be exhibited throughout the festival.

Draper said other festival highlights are a series of children’s activities, including a caterpillar scavenger hunt, petting zoo, craft room and daily parade at 11 a.m.

“We try to make this both entertaining and educational,” she said.

Festival admission is $10 for adults, $9 for seniors, $5 for children ages 5-12, and is free for kids under 4. The gardens are located 30 miles east of Kansas City on U.S. Highway 50. For more information, call (816) 697-2600 or visit powellgardens.org.