Of course, Florida provides endless beaches and warm sunny days, but did you know that Florida is also known for its prevalence of butterflies? 

Common butterflies in Florida include the iconic black and vibrant orange monarch which spends the winter in Mexico and migrates up through North America each spring. 

Then there is the giant swallowtail which looks similar to the monarch except that it is yellow and black and is a special treat to see with a wingspan up to six inches!

The queen butterfly, which is a year-round Florida resident, also resembles the monarch, but its orange is brownish.

The zebra longwing butterfly, which sports striking black and white stripes, is most common in South Florida, but can be spotted throughout the state of Florida.

The pale yellow cloudless sulphur, partial to our Florida bougainvillea, is sometimes mistaken for the nocturnal luna moth, but these butterflies are active only in the day.

And just to prove how prevalent butterflies are in Florida, here are a few of the places you can interact, up close and personal, in Central Florida:

Lukas Nursery & Butterfly Encounter in Oviedo,

The Butterfly Garden and Cloverlawn Butterflies in Orlando,

Brevard Zoo Butterfly Encounter,

Butterfly Rainforest in Gainesville and

Butterfly World in Coconut Creek.