The Monteverde Nature Center and Butterfly Gardens is a nature center in Monteverde

Monteverde

Monteverde, Costa Rica is a small town in Puntarenas, Costa Rica. Located in the Cordillera de Tilarán, roughly a four hour drive from the Central Valley of Costa Rica, Monteverde is considered a major ecotourism destination in Costa Rica...

, Costa Rica

Costa Rica

Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....

. It is located 1.2 miles south of Santa Elena. The center has a number of educational exhibits and butterfly showcased in areas representing three distinct habitats. An hour long tour is taken in view of over 40 species of butterfly in dense forest to emulate that of the natural habitats of the species. The center also has many arachnid and insect species including tarantula

Tarantula

Tarantulas comprise a group of often hairy and often very large arachnids belonging to the family Theraphosidae, of which approximately 900 species have been identified. Some members of the same Suborder may also be called "tarantulas" in the common parlance. This article will restrict itself to...

s, rhinoceros beetle

Rhinoceros beetle

The Rhinoceros Beetles or Rhino Beetles are a subfamily of the scarab beetle family . Other common names – some for particular groups of rhino beetles – are for example Hercules beetles, unicorn beetles or horn beetles...

s and giant 5 inch caterpillar

Caterpillar

Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...

s. Educational videos are also part of the center as are "bug cams" used to examine the insects in detail.