Due to popular demand, Bloomin' Butterfly Gardens returns to Knoxville Zoo this spring. This living garden invites visitors to step inside a beautifully landscaped exhibit filled with hundreds of colorful butterflies that flutter all around. You butter-fly back to one of Knoxville Zoo's most popular exhibits!

Bloomin' Butterfly Gardens features North American butterflies that sip nectar from flowers, perch in sunny locations and even land on visitors. Butterflies are members of the insect order Lepidoptera, which has the unique ability to metamorphose from an ungainly caterpillar into a graceful winged creature. Their intricately colored wings are different from the wings of any other insect, with tiny colored scales that create elaborate patterns.

Bloomin' Butterfly Gardens debuts Saturday, May 1, and is included with paid zoo admission. For more information on Bloomin' Butterfly Gardens, visit Knoxville Zoo's website at www.knoxville-zoo.org or call (865) 637-5331, extension 300. Bloomin' Butterfly Gardens is sponsored by B97.5 FM, Knoxville News Sentinel, and WBIR-TV 10.

Knoxville Zoo is located off exit 392A from Interstate 40 and is open every day except Christmas Day. The zoo is nationally accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and is committed to the highest standards in animal care and well-being, ethics, conservation, and education. Beginning May 25, the zoo is open everyday from 9:30 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. Admission and ticket sales stop one-hour before the zoo closes. Next-day admission is free after 3 p.m. For more information, please call 865.637.5331 ext. 300 or www.knoxville-zoo.org.