Located by Melville Grange, close to the A720 bypass, 5 miles (8 km) southeast of central Edinburgh, the Edinburgh Butterfly and Insect World developed as a tourist attraction in association with the neighbouring plant nursery and garden centre. Today it receives more than 70,000 visitors annually.
The attraction includes an indoor tropical rainforest with free flying exotic butterflies, birds and a waterfall. The insects include a colony of leaf-cutter ants which can be seen carrying their trophies to their nest along ropes suspended over the heads of visitors. Also on show are bees, spiders, scorpions, tropical frogs and snakes, together with the opportunity to see butterflies hatching and tropical plants.
