FANS of colourful butterflies have until Sunday 5 March to visit creatures from around the world emerging from their pupae at RHS Garden Wisley.

The event, which began in January, provides a spectacular winter show in the warmth of The Glasshouse.  Woking families have been flocking to the enclosure where the butterflies from as far away as the Philippines, El Salvador, Belize and large parts of Africa have been putting on a magnificent display.

The February half-term was particularly popular with many children getting their first sight of such a huge number of butterflies. It was the perfect opportunity for parents to find a different way of spending the school break and helping to instil a love of the natural world.

Among the thousands of butterflies, there are 15 species that have never been seen previously at Wisley, including blue waves, giant swallowtails and tiger leafwing. The blue morpho, giant owl, king swallowtail and Malay lacewing are flying among tree ferns, palms and creepers in the glasshouse tropical zone.

At sunset, some of the butterflies have been engaging in mating flight.

The final weekend of the event is likely to get very busy and earlier this week some families took the chance to beat the crowds and marvel at the flying beauties all around them.