Tampa Bay Butterfly Foundation

03/13/2026

Thank you to Kendra Scott in Hyde Park for hosting Tampa Bay Butterfly Foundation at your Friday Sip and Shop with 20% of the sales proceeds benefit the Foundation.

03/06/2026

Don't miss out on our Wildlife Quest Kickoff event, a family-friendly interactive environmental geocaching experience focused on local wildlife and the Tampa Bay watershed!

This official Geocaching Event is a chance for geocachers or those interested in the environment to:

- Learn how to participate in the Wild Life Quest
- Explore our interactive website and how the quest works
- Discover the importance of the Tampa Bay estuaries and watershed
- Participate in a short hands-on watershed activity
- Enter a small raffle featuring native Florida plants

This event is hosted by the Tampa Bay Butterfly Foundation and supported through grant funding from the Tampa Bay Estuary Program Mini-grants. The Wild Life Quest is designed to connect families with local ecosystems, encourage environmental stewardship, and promote outdoor exploration through geocaching.

To register please click the link: Tampa Bay Butterfly Foundation Wildlife Quest Kickoff Tickets, Sat, Mar 7, 2026 at 4:00 PM | Eventbrite

03/05/2026

A new program will be offered by Tampa Bay Butterfly Foundation this spring! Bloom & Flutter will be working with families who have children ages 10-17 who have been diagnosed with autism.

Through this environmental program, we hope to create a safe place for families to gather and connect with nature while providing sensory-friendly outdoor experiences, enhancing social engagement, and increasing pollinator-friendly green spaces at senior centers and at home.

To obtain more details and to register, please visit our Foundation page at https://butterflytampa.com/

02/17/2026

Patience is key this time of year. It's a great time to make plans, even plant some new plants. But leave the leaves, dead stems and give nature a little more time to wake up for exisiting landscape. You will be rewarded with greater biodiversity this year! And more butterflies if you have a butterfly garden. It may feel like spring but we have a few weeks to go.

Every February, a warm spell tricks people into "spring cleaning" their gardens. 55°F feels like summer after weeks of cold. You grab the rake, the clippers, the leaf blower.

And you destroy thousands of lives that are 3 weeks away from waking up.

WHAT'S HIDING IN YOUR "MESSY" YARD RIGHT NOW:

🐝 NATIVE BEE QUEENS are hibernating in hollow plant stems you're about to cut. 70% of native bees nest in the ground or in dead stems. Cut them now and you eliminate an entire pollination workforce before it starts.

🦋 CHRYSALISES are attached to dead plant stalks, fence posts, and under bark flaps. They look like dried leaves or small bumps. When you snap dead stems and toss them in the yard waste bin, the butterflies go with them.

🐸 TOADS are buried 2-4 inches in loose garden soil. They won't emerge until soil temperature hits 50°F consistently. One pass with a rototiller in February kills every toad in the bed.

🐛 BENEFICIAL INSECT EGGS are laid on the undersides of dead leaves, in bark crevices, and on dried flower stems. Lacewings, hoverflies, parasitic wasps — the insects that eat your aphids — are overwintering as eggs in the mess.

THE RULE: DO NOT CUT, RAKE, OR CLEAN GARDEN BEDS UNTIL NIGHTTIME TEMPERATURES STAY ABOVE 50°F FOR A FULL WEEK.

In most of the USA, that's late April to mid-May. Not February. Not March.

That warm day this week is a trap. Your garden isn't ready. The insects, amphibians, and pollinators inside it are still sleeping.

Let them sleep.

02/17/2026

Beautiful Horsefly.

Regarded as the most popular holiday in China and Chinese communities around the world, the Lunar New Year often falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice and before the spring equinox. This year, the Year of the Horse begins on Feb. 17 at exactly 7:01 a.m.

This beautiful painted horse, “Horsefly” is located near the entrance of a Hospice Care Center in Ocala, Florida. It features 35 different butterflies and four caterpillars. These butterflies, a symbol of life and rebirth, bring hope to the patients. Photos by Judith Fulks.

02/17/2026

Great story of a comeback once people leave habitat for the butterflies allowing the populations to thrive.

More than 300 brown hairstreak butterfly eggs were recorded in hedgerows near Llandeilo this winter after decade of decline

02/12/2026

Happening tonight - Butterfly Ball 2026 at Tampa International Airport. Get your tickets online or at the door. Can't make it? You can also be part of this cause and donate here as well.

https://givebutter.com/butterflyball26

We can't wait to see you Flutter in!

02/11/2026

🦋✨ Join us tomorrow for the 2026 Butterfly Ball at Tampa International Airport!

Celebrate an unforgettable evening while making a meaningful difference in our community and local ecosystem—for wildlife and for ourselves.

🎟 Get your tickets in advance at:
https://givebutter.com/butterflyball26

—or purchase at the door.

Can’t attend? You can still support butterfly conservation by making a donation at the same link. Every contribution helps! 💐🌿

We can’t wait to see you there!

01/29/2026

🦋✈️ 14 DAYS UNTIL TAKEOFF!

The Butterfly Ball is almost ready to take flight!

Join us for an unforgettable evening of celebration, community, and conservation.

🛫 Boarding begins at 6:00 PM
✨ Heavy hors d’oeuvres, DJ entertainment & a professionally hosted bar
🎟 Silent auction, raffles & wine pull
👗 Elevated business casual or Bug-Inspired Brilliance (Best Dressed Bug prizes!)
📍 Meet between Airside E & F
🅿️ Complimentary long-term parking

🎟 Tickets are going fast—don’t miss your chance to be part of the magic. https://givebutter.com/butterflyball26

🦋 We can’t wait to see you at the Butterfly Ball presented by TPA!

12/13/2025

🎁💛 Help Us Spread Smiles Tomorrow! 💛🎁

We’re packing Little St. Nick Gift Bags tomorrow for children at Tampa General Hospital, and we could use a few more donations to help fill them!

If you’re able, please consider bringing new, unused items to help us stuff the bags—small gifts that bring comfort, joy, and reassurance to kids who need it most. Every item makes a difference and shows these children they are cared for by their community.

The Little Saint Nick Foundation (LSNF) inspires kids in our local communities to give back to other kids in need. These simple Gift Bags are created by children for children and given to young patients as they enter healthcare facilities. There is a special connection between kids of all ages that can’t be duplicated—when one child helps another, a simple act of kindness becomes a powerful lesson in empathy and generosity.

Thank you for helping us give back and make this holiday season brighter for local kids. 💛✨

12/04/2025

The Tampa Bay Butterfly Foundation is spreading holiday cheer, and you can help! We’re raising funds and collecting items for our Little St. Nick Gift Bags, which will be packed on December 14 from 12:30–2:30 PM at the Tampa Bay Butterfly Foundation Gallery @ 4111 Henderson Blvd.

Each $10 donation helps fill a gift bag with new, unused items—
🧸 a stuffed animal
✨ a pop-it toy
🎨 a coloring book
🖍️ a pack of crayons
💛 an inspiration card

These thoughtful bags bring comfort and joy to pediatric patients at Tampa General Hospital, letting them know their community cares.

Whether you choose to donate or drop off items, your support truly makes a meaningful difference. Together, we can brighten the season and bring hope to local children in crisis.

Let’s come together to spread joy and make an impact this holiday season!