Live Caterpillar Show Coming to Tower Hill

A wide variety of spectacular, and often bizarre, caterpillars that call our backyards home are coming to Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston on Saturday, Aug. 23, for visitors to see and learn about up close. It promises to be an event filled with discovery that all ages will enjoy.

Sam Jaffe, a life-long naturalist, trained biologist, photographer, and educator, brings his “Caterpillars of Massachusetts” show to Tower Hill on Saturday, Aug. 23, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The one-day show is free with admission and visitors will learn about these insects we often see in passing, but rarely stop to appreciate.

Jaffe runs The Caterpillar Lab, based in Keene, N.H., and is “passionate about showcasing the amazing diversity of northeastern caterpillars.” His most recent photography exhibits of native caterpillars can be seen at the MIT Center for Theoretical Physics in Cambridge and in the hallways of Antioch University New England in Keene.

Also, on Sunday, Aug. 24, from 1 to 4 p.m., Jaffe will bring program participants on a caterpillar safari at Tower Hill where he will explain how he finds these elusive insects. He will also point out the signs that caterpillars leave behind, share insights about these fascinating bugs, as well as show and release an assortment of giant silk moth caterpillars that participants can see up close.

The Sunday caterpillar walk, which is $25 for members and $40 for non-members, is ideal if you want to expand your view and understanding of our local ecosystems, if you want to learn more about the amazing diversity our region’s native plants, or if you have just been itching to see some new and unexpected things close to home.

Visitors are also welcome to explore the many sights Tower Hill has to offer, including the organic vegetable garden, Twigs Café, the Secret Garden, nature trails, the Shop, the Wildlife Refuge Pond, and so much more.

For more information on events presented by the nonprofit Tower Hill Botanical Garden at 11 French Drive in Boylston, Mass., please call 508-869-6111, visit towerhillbg.org, or email rburgess@towerhillbg.org.

Home of the Worcester County Horticultural Society, Tower Hill Botanic Garden is less than an hour’s drive from Boston, Providence, Springfield and Hartford and is nationally recognized as one of the finest gardens in the Northeast with more than 80,000 annual visitors and 6,000 active members.

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