Keepers at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo are celebrating particularly high numbers of butterflies this autumn in the zoo’s tropical butterfly house.
The chrysalis-shaped butterfly house is one of the largest butterfly biomes in the UK, and features colourful butterflies from around the world. It is currently full of hundreds of butterflies, in part due to the temperate weather conditions.
Team leader Alex Cliffe said: "Although we keep conditions within the butterfly house warm and humid all year round, the butterflies love this time of year when the outside temperature isn't too hot or too cold.
"All our species, from the shimmering blue morpho butterfly to the Atlas moth, which is one of the largest in the world, seem to be thriving.
"It's lovely to watch visitors, especially children, have close-up encounters with these incredible, colourful creatures, and see families discovering every stage of their life cycle at the Metamorphosis Zone."
Butterflies are not the only creatures at the zoo increasing their numbers this autumn.
Within the same building, Whipsnade's new aquarium is welcoming a raft of new fish into its 'Brazilian Flooded Forest' exhibit, including the Halloween-theme-named black ghost knifefish.
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