The Bayer Insectarium is an

insectarium An insectarium is a live insect zoo, or a museum or exhibit of live insects. Insectariums often display a variety of insects and similar arthropods, such as spiders, beetles, cockroaches, ants, bees, millipedes, centipedes, crickets, grasshop ...

located within the Saint Louis Zoo in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, United States. Having opened in 2000 and designed by David Mason & Associates with a cost of $4 million, this facility houses educational exhibits and an active breeding and research facility. It also includes a window to the exhibits area and two-way communications so visitors may watch

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

s work and ask them questions. The facility even includes a

geodesic In geometry, a geodesic () is a curve representing in some sense the shortest path ( arc) between two points in a surface, or more generally in a Riemannian manifold. The term also has meaning in any differentiable manifold with a connection. ...

flight dome cage, which is home to numerous

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

flowers and butterfly species. The Bayer Insectarium is open every day except Christmas and New Years days. Admission to the zoo and the insectarium is free.

Butterfly collection

The insectarium includes a tropical garden and pollinarium. The gallery (below) illustrates a few specimens from the pollinarium's collection. Image:Mexican_sister_underside.JPG, ''

Adelpha fessonia ''Adelpha fessonia'', the band-celled sister or Mexican sister, is a species of butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Panama north through Central America to Mexico. It is a periodic resident in the lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas. ...

''
Mexican sister, underside Image:Gulf Fritillary.JPG, ''

Agraulis vanillae The Gulf fritillary or passion butterfly (''Dione vanillae'') is a bright orange butterfly in the subfamily Heliconiinae of the family Nymphalidae. That subfamily was formerly set apart as a separate family, the Heliconiidae. The Heliconiinae a ...

''
Gulf fritillary Image:Cydno Longwing underside.JPG, ''

Heliconius cydno ''Heliconius cydno'', the cydno longwing, is a nymphalid butterfly that ranges from Mexico to northern South America. It is typically found in the forest understory and deposits its eggs on a variety of plants of the genus ''Passiflora''. It is ...

''
cydno longwing, underside Image:Red Postman.JPG, ''

Heliconius erato ''Heliconius erato'', or the red postman, is one of about 40 neotropical species of butterfly belonging to the genus ''Heliconius''. It is also commonly known as the small postman, the red passion flower butterfly, or the crimson-patched longwing ...

''
red postman Image:Heliconius hecale.JPG, ''

Heliconius hecale ''Heliconius hecale'', the tiger longwing, Hecale longwing, golden longwing or golden heliconian, is a heliconiid butterfly that occurs from Mexico to the Peruvian Amazon. Hecale, was an old woman who gave shelter to Theseus on his way to captu ...

''
tiger longwing Image:Hypolimnas bolina.JPG, ''

Hypolimnas bolina ''Hypolimnas bolina'', the great eggfly, common eggfly, varied eggfly or in New Zealand the blue moon butterfly is a species of nymphalid butterfly found from Madagascar to Asia and Australia. Appearance Race ''bolina'' ''H. bolina'' is a blac ...

''
great egg fly, male Image:Idea leuconoe.JPG, ''

Idea leuconoe ''Idea leuconoe'', also known as the paper kite butterfly, rice paper butterfly, large tree nymph, or in Australia the white nymph butterfly, is a butterfly known especially for its presence in butterfly house A butterfly house, conservatory ...

''
paper kite Image:Gray pansy.JPG, ''

Junonia atlites ''Junonia atlites'', the grey pansy, is a species of nymphalid butterfly found in South Asia. Distribution ''J. atlites'' is found in Bangladesh, India, southern China, Cambodia, Indochina, the Malay Peninsula, western and central Indonesia, a ...

''
gray pansy Image:Phoebis sennae.JPG, '' Phoebis sennae''
cloudless sulphur File:Chocolate pansy 1.JPG, ''

Precis iphita ''Junonia iphita'', the chocolate pansy or chocolate soldier, is a butterfly found in Asia. The wingspan is about and the female can be told apart from the male by white markings on the oblique line on the underside of the hindwing. The wavy l ...

''
chocolate pansy Image:Great Mormon female.JPG, ''

Princeps memnon ''Papilio memnon'', the great Mormon, is a large butterfly native to southern Asia that belongs to the swallowtail family. It is widely distributed and has thirteen subspecies. The female is polymorphic and with mimetic forms. Range Its range ...

''
great Mormon, female Image:Great Mormon male.JPG, ''

''
great Mormon, male Image:Malachite underside.JPG, ''

Siproeta stelenes ''Siproeta stelenes'' (malachite) is a Neotropical brush-footed butterfly (family Nymphalidae). The malachite has large wings that are black and brilliant green or yellow-green on the upperside and light brown and olive green on the underside. ...

''
malachite, underside

Notes

External links

* * {{Zoos of Missouri Insectariums Saint Louis Zoo Buildings and structures in St. Louis Tourist attractions in St. Louis Butterfly houses Monsanto 2000 establishments in Missouri Zoos in Missouri