After retiring from a career as electrical engineer, Ronald Boender started raising butterflies and their food plants in his home in Florida.

After having visited England in 1985, where he met Clive Farrell (founder and owner of the London Butterfly House), he decided to create his own facility in Florida.

Since then it has expanded to include the largest free flight hummingbird aviary in the United States, a Lorikeet Encounter, and an aviculture research center.

The Museum/Insectarium features exhibits of mounted specimens of beetles, scorpions, butterflies, moths, and other insects.

Visitors can view the laboratory where the butterflies are raised and can see the different stages including eggs, caterpillars, and pupae.