Butterflies of Cape Cod

Butterflies of Cape Cod Butterflies of Cape Cod (BoCC) is an organization focused on encouraging people to create sustainable, pollinator-friendly backyards.

We hope to inspire individuals and other organizations to promote pollinators and local wildlife through the use of native plants and decreasing the activities that are harmful to local pollinator species (such as the use of herbicides and insecticides). At present, we have a small, but charming, outdoor backyard-inspired habitat featuring native butterflies and plants that we hope will get you cu

rious about what you can do with your own backyard. Our admission fee and gift store are contributing to our fund to turn our organization into a nonprofit which will allow us to expand our activities.

Plant Spotlight: Partridge Pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata) 🌼✨Looking for a native plant that brings vibrant summer color ...
08/17/2026

Plant Spotlight: Partridge Pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata) 🌼✨

Looking for a native plant that brings vibrant summer color and draws a crowd? Partridge Pea is always a huge favorite for visitors walking through our garden area!

Standing about 2 feet high, this beautiful self-seeding annual is part of the pea family and native to most of the East Coast. Here’s why bees, pollinators, and gardeners alike fall in love with it:

🌸 Show-Stopping Bloom & Foliage: Features bright yellow summer flowers paired with uniquely detailed, fern-like foliage.
🍼 Host Plant: Serves as a crucial host plant for caterpillars of sulphur butterflies and the Eastern Tailed-Blue!
🐝 Pollinator Magnet: Packed with nectar that native bees and local pollinators can't resist.
🐦 Fall & Winter Wildlife Food: Its seed pods provide high-protein nutrition for wild birds straight into the cooler months.

Have you spotted sulphurs or Eastern Tailed-Blues fluttering around Partridge Pea this season? Let us know in the comments! 👇

📍 Visit Us: 26 Herring Pond Rd, Bourne, MA

⏰ August Hours: Daily from 10 AM to 4 PM

🎟️ Admission: Adults $10 | Children (12 & under) $8 | Seniors (62+) $8

🌧️ Weather Note: Our open-air habitat closes during rain for butterfly safety, but our Gift Shop remains OPEN!

Behind the Scenes: All Hands on Deck! 💦🦋Keeping our open-air habitat pristine and cool during peak August heat takes a f...
08/16/2026

Behind the Scenes: All Hands on Deck! 💦🦋

Keeping our open-air habitat pristine and cool during peak August heat takes a full team effort—and a lot of water!

From spraying down the mesh screens to keep temperatures comfy and clean, to making sure our native nectar plants stay hydrated, garden maintenance is a daily family affair around here.*

A huge thank you to our hardworking "assistant habitat managers" who help keep everything running smoothly behind the scenes! 👦✨

What summer chores are your family tackling this weekend? Tell us below! 👇

📍 Visit Us: 26 Herring Pond Rd, Bourne, MA

⏰ August Hours: Daily from 10 AM to 4 PM

🎟️ Admission: Adults $10 | Children (12 & under) $8 | Seniors (62+) $8

🌧️ Weather Note: Our open-air habitat closes during rain for butterfly safety, but our Gift Shop remains OPEN!

*Not really. Ann does most of the work around here.

08/14/2026

When You Plant Natives, Your Garden Comes Alive! 🌿🦋

Talk about a bustling nectar station! Watch closely as a magnificent Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes) stops in to feed, accompanied by a Cabbage White fluttering through. And if you keep your eyes peeled near the end... a hummingbird drops in to join the fun! 🐦✨

When you incorporate native host and nectar plants into your landscape, your yard becomes a vital pit stop for all kinds of local pollinators.

Did you catch the hummingbird on your first watch? Let us know in the comments! 👇

📍 Visit Us: 26 Herring Pond Rd, Bourne, MA

⏰ August Hours: Daily from 10 AM to 4 PM

🎟️ Admission: Adults $10 | Children (12 & under) $8 | Seniors (62+) $8

🌧️ Weather Note: Our open-air habitat closes during rain for butterfly safety, but our Gift Shop remains OPEN!

Backyard Ecology: Host Plants vs. Nectar Plants 🌿🦋Want to transform your yard into a true butterfly sanctuary? It takes ...
08/12/2026

Backyard Ecology: Host Plants vs. Nectar Plants 🌿🦋

Want to transform your yard into a true butterfly sanctuary? It takes more than just pretty flowers! To build a habitat that supports butterflies through their whole life cycle, you need both Nectar Plants and Host Plants.

Swipe through to see how they work together! ➡️

⛽ Nectar Plants = Fuel Stations: Adult butterflies rely on nectar from a variety of blooms for quick energy to fly and pollinate.

🍼 Host Plants = Nurseries: Female butterflies lay eggs specifically on host plants so hungry caterpillars have the exact native leaves they need to grow and chrysalize!

When you plant both, you aren't just feeding visiting butterflies—you're raising the next generation!

What host or nectar plants are currently growing in your garden? Tell us in the comments below! 👇

📍 Visit Us: 26 Herring Pond Rd, Bourne, MA

⏰ August Hours: Daily from 10 AM to 4 PM

🎟️ Admission: Adults $10 | Children (12 & under) $8 | Seniors (62+) $8

🌧️ Weather Note: Our open-air habitat closes during rain for butterfly safety, but our Gift Shop remains OPEN!

Species Highlight: The Baltimore Checkerspot! 🦋With its striking orange and black checkered pattern, the Baltimore Check...
08/10/2026

Species Highlight: The Baltimore Checkerspot! 🦋

With its striking orange and black checkered pattern, the Baltimore Checkerspot (Euphydryas phaeton) is easily one of New England’s most eye-catching native butterflies! Swipe through to explore its life cycle—from cluster-laid eggs to social caterpillars.

➡️ Slide 1: Complete life cycle transformation (Eggs ➡️ Caterpillar ➡️ Chrysalis ➡️ Adult).

➡️ Slide 2: Communal webs, host plant favorites, and fun facts!

➡️ Slide 3: Plan your visit to see our active pollinators in person this August!

Unlike many solitary species, these caterpillars are remarkably social—hatching in large groups and spinning shared silk nests to feed and survive winter together.

Have you ever spotted these bold caterpillars or adults in wetlands near you? Let us know in the comments! 👇

📍 Visit Us: 26 Herring Pond Rd, Bourne, MA

⏰ August Hours: Daily from 10 AM to 4 PM

🎟️ Admission: Adults $10 | Children (12 & under) $8 | Seniors (62+) $8

🌧️ Weather Note: Our open-air habitat closes during rain for butterfly safety, but our Gift Shop remains OPEN!

Behind the Scenes: Butterfly Laundry Day! 🧺 Sun-drying editionEver wonder what goes into keeping an open-air butterfly h...
08/09/2026

Behind the Scenes: Butterfly Laundry Day! 🧺 Sun-drying edition

Ever wonder what goes into keeping an open-air butterfly habitat safe and healthy? A whole lot of mesh cleaning!

🌧️ Weather Note: Our open-air habitat closes during rain for butterfly safety, but our Gift Shop remains OPEN! =e the most glamorous part of running a habitat, but keeping a spotless environment ensures all of our caterpillars, chrysalises, and butterflies stay disease-free and thriving.

Who else has a weekend chore list that looks a little unusual? 😄👇

📍 Visit Us: 26 Herring Pond Rd, Bourne, MA

⏰ August 2026 Hours: Daily from 10 AM to 4 PM

🎟️ Admission: Adults $10 | Children (12 & under) $8 | Seniors (62+) $8

🌧️ Weather Note: Our open-air habitat closes during rain for butterfly safety, but our Gift Shop remains OPEN!

08/07/2026

Ever wonder how butterflies eat? Watch closely as this Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus) uses its long, straw-like mouthpart—called a proboscis—to reach deep into the bloom for sweet nectar!

When they aren't feeding, they roll their proboscis back up tight under their head like a tiny garden hose.

What native flowers are blooming in your yard that our fast-flying skipper friends love? Tell us in the comments! 👇

📍 Visit Us: 26 Herring Pond Rd, Bourne, MA

⏰ August 2026 Hours: Daily from 10 AM to 4 PM

🎟️ Admission: Adults $10 | Children (12 & under) $8 | Seniors (62+) $8

🌧️ Weather Note: Our open-air habitat closes during rain for butterfly safety, but our Gift Shop remains OPEN!

Behind the Scenes in the Garden: Meet the Robber Fly! 📸Shoutout to Ann for snapping this incredible photo!At first glanc...
08/05/2026

Behind the Scenes in the Garden: Meet the Robber Fly! 📸

Shoutout to Ann for snapping this incredible photo!

At first glance, you might think you’re looking at a bumblebee, but take a closer look—this is a Robber Fly (Laphria family), one of the garden’s most effective aerial predators!

🦟 Bumblebee Mimic: They’ve evolved thick, fuzzy yellow and black hairs to look like bumblebees, which helps protect them from hungry birds.
🦟 Precision Hunters: Robber flies ambush prey in mid-air, helping keep pest populations in check. While they occasionally catch pollinators like this honeybee, they are a sign of a thriving, biodiverse habitat!

Nature is full of incredible, complex interactions right in our own backyards. Have you ever spotted one of these master mimics in your garden? Let us know in the comments! 👇

📍 Visit Us: 26 Herring Pond Rd, Bourne, MA

⏰ August Hours: 10 am to 4 pm Daily | Admission: Adults- $10, Seniors & children- $8

🌧️ Weather Note: Our habitat closes during rain for butterfly & guest safety!

Species Highlight: The American Lady! 🦋Ever wonder who is hiding in those webbed leaves on your pearly everlasting? Swip...
08/03/2026

Species Highlight: The American Lady! 🦋

Ever wonder who is hiding in those webbed leaves on your pearly everlasting? Swipe through to take a closer look at the American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis) and its amazing life cycle!

➡️ Slide 1: Complete life cycle transformation (Caterpillar ➡️ Adult).

➡️ Slide 2: Spotting the caterpillar's silk tent & its favorite native host plants!

➡️ Slide 3: Plan your visit to see our active pollinators in person this August!

These beautiful butterflies are frequent visitors to sunny meadows and backyard gardens. You can help them thrive in your own yard by planting native hosts like Pussytoes and Pearly Everlasting!

Have you ever spotted one of their tiny silk tents on your plants? Tell us in the comments! 👇

📍 Visit Us: 26 Herring Pond Rd, Bourne, MA

⏰ August Hours: Daily from 10 AM to 4 PM

🌧️ Weather Note: Our open-air habitat closes during rain for butterfly & guest safety, but our Gift Shop remains OPEN!

07/19/2026

Butterflies on Purple Coneflower and Wild Bergamot

Address

Bourne, MA

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 4pm
Tuesday 10am - 4pm
Wednesday 10am - 4pm
Thursday 10am - 4pm
Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm
Sunday 10am - 4pm

Telephone

+17744139310

Website

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