A sharply-hued Blue Morpho butterfly suspended its flight to take a rest on my stomach. One side of its wings, a deep ocean blue, with framed edges of black. The other side of its wings were brown with a series of psychedelic, black and yellow circles that looked like frog eyes suspended in the dusk. Then a midnight blue and silver-streaked Great Mormon flew past, inches from my face, followed by a Paper Kite, white-winged with symmetrical lines and splotches of black, like a floating Rorschach test.
Butterflies need to raise their body temperature in order to fly. It was a Sunday morning at Wheeler Farms Butterfly House, at 11455 Obee Road in Whitehouse, and the butterflies were still in the process of warming up. They had a long day of flying ahead of them, with many more visitors to meet.
The Butterfly House
About 15 years ago, Duke Wheeler took a trip with his wife, Martha, to Mackinac Island, where they visited a butterfly house. They loved the butterflies, but more importantly, they could not believe how happy the people were inside the house. “It’s magic to see how much they smile,” Duke Wheeler told me. So, in 2001, they opened their own butterfly house. The Wheelers’ Butterfly House is serene. They limit visitors to no more than 60 at a time. Throughout, are trees and bushes. Fish splash in a koi pond. Over 40 varieties of flowers grow, between which the butterflies bounce, like they are on a light-hearted scavenger hunt. Classical music plays softly. Butterflies “love Strauss,” said Wheeler.
The House is all natural. No insecticides are used. No artificial fertilizers. The butterflies eat only from flowers, dispensers of sugar water, and over-ripe bananas. The House is powered entirely by solar panels.
The Butterfly House is open May through October and, during that time, regularly houses 1,000 butterflies. Since the lives of butterflies are very short—they live for only two to four weeks—the House gets a new shipment every week. During my visit, they were expecting a shipment of 800 cocooned butterflies from Costa Rica that would hatch in-house. They also receive shipments from Malaysia, The Philippines, and Africa.
A Tour of the Farm
After a long career in physical therapy, Duke Wheeler opened a Christmas Tree farm in the early 1990’s, which has grown to 80,000 Christmas trees in 12 different conifer species. The Wheelers still sell them every winter, just down the road from the Butterfly House.
On their 200 acres, you will find 2 cows, 2 llamas, chickens, honey bees, a tilapia pond, and black walnut trees. They grow their own grapes, and make their own wine. They recently opened horse stables with a pretty barn that allows them to host weddings. This fall, they will harvest pumpkins.
Duke Wheeler is a warm, generous man. Every winter, he gives free Christmas trees to military families. He and his staff provide tours for school kids and senior citizens. This fall’s corn maze—it has a new design every year—will be in the shape of a Jeep Wrangler, to show solidarity with Toledo’s workers. “My true belief is that we are all family,” said Wheeler.
The life of a butterfly is terribly short. A few weeks are barely enough to meet the world. But to watch them fly singularly through the air, defiantly colored like exotic fish lures or ceremonial headdresses, and totally untethered, is to see a small life fully lived. They are like fireworks still bursting as they fade into night. Visiting them at Wheeler Farms is peaceful, where they calmly float amongst flowers, accompanied by string music. As Duke told me, “butterflies are simple beauty.”
May-August: 10am-5pm, Monday-Saturday. Noon-5pm, Sunday. September and October hours vary. $9/adults, ages 12-65. $8./seniors 65+. $7/ages 4-11. Free/ages 3 and younger. Wheeler Farms, 11500 Obee Rd., Whitehouse. 419-877-2733, wheelerfarms.com
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Dorian Slaybod is an attorney happily living in Toledo.
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