When I first entered the butterfly sanctuary, I was so excited, but also a little nervous. There were so many butterflies that I felt worried about stepping on one. Mindo is very humid, so I was also sweating a bit. As sweat rolled down my face, I felt something land on my cheek. A butterfly! Butterflies need salt and sugar, like us, and I guess it saw me as a good source! To say I was thrilled would be an understatement: I was overjoyed! An employee at the mariposario noticed and showed me how to safely pick up butterflies without hurting them. That way, they could drink the salt off my hands. By the way, the best way to do it is to put fruit juice on your fingers, and then put them up to a butterfly's proboscis (the long, skinny, curly mouth part that butterflies have with which to drink nectar). The butterfly will sample you and then decide if it wants more. If it likes how you taste, it'll crawl onto you!
Although butterflies are found everywhere except Antarctica, most butterflies are found in tropical environments. In Ecuador, where I am currently living, we have some of the highest density of butterflies in the world. Mindo is home to about 25 native species, but because the rainforest is a great habitat for many more butterflies than just the native ones, there are several mariposarios in Mindo. Mariposarios are institutions that educate people on the life cycle of the butterfly, the threats posed to the insects and possible plans to conserve them. Mariposarios also breed endangered species and provide the best care to the caterpillars so as many as possible make it to adulthood.
