A malachite butterfly. PHOTO PROVIDED

A short-lived chapter has come to a close for the Florida Native Butterfly Society, after an announcement of the Shell Factory & Nature Center closing Monday.

The news was shared during an employee mandatory meeting Monday morning. The park’s final days of operation will be Sept. 20-22 and Sept. 27-29 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Nature Park and Gift Shop will also be open those days, and the park’s onsite restaurants, the Southern Grill and Tommy’s Outdoor Cafe, both will serve a limited menu while supplies last. The Fun Park has already closed.

The Shell Factory & Nature Center has served the community for 86 years. The 18-acre property has amusement style rides, arcade games, miniature golf, 50,000 square feet of gift shops, and a 4.5-acre nature park with more than 400 animals, birds, reptiles and fish.

“This has been an incredibly hard decision for me, and one that was not made lightly, as the Shell Factory has been such a big part of the community and my life for many decades,” Owner Pam Cronin said in a prepared statement. “We are so proud of the countless joyous experiences that the Shell Factory has provided for residents and visitors of our community, as children and families have laughed aboard the bumper boats, tried a round of mini-golf, flew on the zipline, learned about our loveable animals, enjoyed delicious food and sweet treats, discovered many unique treasures from our store and so much more.”

After the news was shared, Sherri Williams and Elizabeth Wilkerson, who both have spent countless hours planting butterfly plants in the Nature Park and creating a space where they could educate the community alongside many volunteers, began digging up plants they have purchased through donations and planted to attract many species to the Nature Park.

Williams said the plants were just becoming lush, attracting butterflies, and now they are forced to start over again.

Williams, the curator of Butterfly Estates, which closed last year unexpectantly, began another butterfly garden at the Shell Factory in August 2023, four, or five weeks after Butterfly Estates closed its doors. The conversation began after the Shell Factory took their koi from the Butterfly Estates.

Once the word was shared on social media that they were accepting donations for plants, butterfly enthusiasts began stopping by — many of whom have been huge supporters for years — to select from the variety of butterfly host and nectar plants available to add to their own space.

Plants have also been set aside for a teacher, who is establishing a butterfly garden at her school. Williams said making sure she gets plants for the butterfly garden makes her heart happy.

Some of the plants are also going home with Williams, so she can continue the lifecycle of the many species of butterflies.

With an abundance of Julia and malachite caterpillars, the women are asking for a $1 donation. The Julia’s host plant is passionvine and the malachite’s host plant is shrimp and ruellia.

“We have an endless supply right now of caterpillars,” Williams said.

Those interested in making a donation for the caterpillars, or plants, are encouraged to call Williams at 239-789-0711.

The donations will be used to create a flight house, so eggs can be collected, and pupa can be given for a donation to further their cause. Williams said the plan is to do this until they can find a home where another garden can be planted.

After retirement, moving to Southwest Florida, and a trip to The Butterfly Estates was had, Williams found a new passion — one that has taught her an abundance of information about the lifecycle of the butterfly and the plants needed to keep it going.

That trip landed her a part-time job where she initially took care of plants, and weeding, before helping with caterpillars and eventually becoming the curator.

Williams, in 2019-2020, began establishing atala colonies, which first started at The Butterfly Estates, before colonies were also seen in other locations in Downtown Fort Myers.

The hope is to carry on the dream of further educating the public about butterflies and establishing a garden. Williams said they have heard from so many people that they were inspired by The Butterfly Estates to start their own garden at home.

“I want to take my knowledge and plant a complete garden,” Williams said, adding that a year later the butterflies will come.

She has even tossed around the idea of helping people create a butterfly layout on their property with the plants they need.