Invertebrates make up 97% of all animal species on Earth and are the foundation of our ecosystem. Though their populations are declining at alarming rates. With your help, we can make a difference and reverse this trend! We rely on monthly supporters like you to continue researching these incredible species, conserving their populations and habitats, and educating the community about their importance.

Give a Monthly Gift

To thank you for your remarkable support, Friends of Rosie participants will enjoy:

Knowledge that your monthly gift is making an incredible difference.
Insider communications to keep you in the know about what’s happening at Butterfly Pavilion.
Annual workshop with a Butterfly Pavilion invertebrate expert.
For monthly gifts over $25, you’ll also receive a Butterfly Pavilion hat.

Give a Monthly Gift

Interesting Facts about Rosie the Tarantula (Grammostola Rosea)

• Chilean Rose Hair tarantulas get their name from the pink hue of their hairs. They are docile and gentle animals, making them ideal for interacting with humans. They are carnivores, eating a diet of mainly crickets, beetles, and other insects.  
• Rosie has held hands with over 3 million people since Butterfly Pavilion opening in 1995. 
• There are actually many “Rosies” at Butterfly Pavilion. In order to make sure that Rosie never feels overwhelmed or stressed while interacting with guests, each Rosie only “works” for about 2 hours at a time. 
• Butterfly Pavilion leads the AZA (Association of Zoos & Aquariums), on the SWARM (Safety Web for Arthropod Reproductive Management) program for the Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula. This program helps maintain sustainable populations of Chilean Rose Hair Tarantulas (Grammostola Rosea) in the wild. 
• We’ve been working with Colorado State University and the Southern Plains Land Trust since 2021 to study burrowing site selection by tarantulas in southeastern Colorado. In our southern Colorado prairies, the Oklahoma brown, the Colorado chocolate brown, and three other tarantula species build burrows in the ground and patiently wait for unsuspecting insects to walk across their webs.  Our study examines the influence of soil, vegetation, and livestock grazing on the location and density of tarantula burrows. We analyze this information to inform conservation efforts for wild tarantula habitat. 
• Our tarantula nursery is on display at Butterfly Pavilion! Next time you visit, you can see the baby tarantulas we have on site that are part of our tarantula breeding research!

Give a Monthly Gift

Monthly gifts provide us with a reliable source of funding so we can continue running our programs and keeping our animals happy and healthy.

Here are some examples of what your monthly gift could fund: