Australian Butterfly Sanctuary, Butterfly house in Kuranda, Australia

The Australian Butterfly Sanctuary is a butterfly house in Kuranda where over 1500 tropical butterflies fly freely within a temperature-controlled aviary. The facility includes viewing areas and laboratories where visitors can observe the different stages of butterfly metamorphosis.

Paul and Susan Wright conceived, designed and built the sanctuary in 1987. In July 2004 Charles and Pip Woodward, of the CaPTA Group, joined them in an equal partnership, and the group bought the remaining share a few years later. In April 2005 the breeding laboratories were upgraded so that educational groups could view them.

The sanctuary's name is used for the whole Kuranda exhibit, and its laboratory releases butterflies into the aviary every day. The species shown are mostly native to Far North Queensland, among them the Ulysses butterfly, the Cairns birdwing, the red lacewing, the cruiser and the orchard swallowtail. The Hercules moth and the silk moth are also on display.

The sanctuary sits in the centre of Kuranda, Queensland, and the breeding laboratories were upgraded in April 2005 so educational groups can view them. Butterflies are released from the laboratory into the aviary daily, so the free-flying population changes through the day. Allow time to walk the aviary slowly and look for species such as the Ulysses and Cairns birdwing.

The sanctuary is listed by the Guinness Book of Records as Australia's largest butterfly flight aviary and exhibit. Its laboratory breeds about 30,000 caterpillars a year and releases roughly 24,000 pupae into the aviary, where around 1,500 butterflies fly free.