One of the attractions that gets  most people’s attention is the Butterfly Project by Xcaret Park, at the Riviera Maya, Mexico, which is included in Xcaret tickets, without paying any additional cost .

This project was founded in 1994 with the identification of numerous populations of butterflies in the state of Quintana Roo, their host plants and nectar plants used to be fed.

Four years later Xcaret Park began the cultivation of host plants and nectar plants for butterflies in the region, in order to know the growth of these species, succeeding in reforesting the park with the fabulous amount of 17.974 host plants and 26000 nectar plants.

What made butterflies as Parides, Papilo thoas and  Driadula,  that were no longer seen in the area, reappeared, in addition to providing food for migratory butterfly species.

For a butterfly is necessary to propagate ten host plants. Nowadays, the Xcaret nursery propagates 3 000 plants a month, and intends to continue reforesting the park, and areas of the strip of coastal dunes in the north of the state is a serious environmental impact.

Three species of butterflies withstand a delicate situation, because of the disruption of the jungle, Hamadryas honorina, one of the seven endemic species of the Yucatan peninsula; Battus philenor corbis, whose habitat is restricted to beaches and dunes where the host plant  Aristoloquia Pentandra  grows and  Driadula phaetusa phaetusa, of which there is little information, so that its research is important.

To save these butterflies n serious danger of extinction, the Xcaret Park organized collections of adult butterflies in the southern part of the state. The specimens are transferred to the nursery of Xcaret Ecological Park, with similar conditions to their natural habitat.

Then the eggs are collected in small glass boxes and they hatch, the larvae are transported to their host plant.

The Butterfly Pavilion at Xcaret Park also reproduces an average of  400 specimens per species a month, and knows the life cycles of 51 species.

The butterfly Pavilion at Xcaret Park has three farms, a larva with the humidity and temperature needed,  a laboratory to control parasites and to care newly hatched larvae, and a 80,000 host plant nursery.

The main objective of the butterfly is to continue studying this endangered species that provide valuable information to reintroduce them to their natural habitat again.

Xcaret Park main objective is that its visitors spend a day packed of fun, with different attractions.  In addition, Xcaret Park has interactive programs to awake awareness to take care of the environment, therefore buying your tickets to Xcaret you contribute to nature conservation activities. Ask your Travel Agency about Xcaret Tours. Don’t miss Xcaret  Mexico espactacular Show.