Butterflies & Insects
Brilliant colours, unusual shapes, spooky patterns – our butterfly displays present these fragile creatures in all their glory, along with information about their origins, life cycles and survival strategies.
The insect collections at the Booth Museum are among the largest outside the national museums, and the specimens on display attract visitors of all ages. Our butterfly collection, which includes some of the first scientifically described examples of many Central and South American species as well as a vast number of British butterflies and moths, also provides inspiration to artists, photographers and fashion designers, thanks to the vivid colours and eye-catching patterns of many of the examples that you can see in the gallery.
Species from around the world
You’ll encounter vivid swallowtails, a family which includes the highly prized bird-wing butterflies, named for their size and birdlike flight. You can also see some extraordinary owl butterflies, which have prominent eye spots on their hind wings, as well as countless other species, large and small, from around the world.
Insects as pollinators
The gallery seeks to remind us of the importance of insects in the natural world. A display of European bees and wasps, for example, is accompanied by information about their role as pollinators. There is a glass case of beetles, another of grasshoppers, locusts and crickets. We have also included information panels explaining how insects evolved and are classified and how they can be identified, making the gallery both a visual delight and an opportunity to discover and learn.