A little girl waited patiently as a multi-colored butterfly settled onto a metal screen during a recent sunny Saturday at Rockford’s Nicholas Conservatory and Gardens.

She intently studied the mostly brown butterfly for a couple of minutes, then turned her attention to a small notebook to add details to a sketch.

Dozens of other butterflies fluttered nearby, searching for snacks or preening while perched on leaves as delighted visitors had up-close views inside a special enclosure created for Nicholas Conservatory’s latest show.

“Simply Spring: The Butterfly Exhibit” runs through May 17. It’s the fourth time Nicholas Conservatory has showcased the popular insects since the center’s 2012 opening.

“Everyone is transformed into their childhood again,” said Kelly Moore, Nicholas Conservatory facility manager. “We get more questions and reactions from the adults than we do from the kids. Everybody is kind of amazed to be immersed into nature in their own backyard.”

This year’s butterflies originated in Costa Rica and arrived in Rockford by way of Florida and Minnesota-based distributors. Some came in live form while others were in pupa stage — part of a metamorphosis into a butterfly.

“This is the first time we’ve gone with tropical butterflies,” Moore said. “It brings in more regulation but it also allows us to have the large blue butterflies, and a lot of them that aren’t native to the region.

“They’ll either send them to us in live form, adult form, or they’ll send us the pupas and we will — for lack of a better term — make them here.”

The conservatory has an emergence room for budding butterflies, who are later transferred to the exhibition area.

“We started the exhibit of about 350 and they have a lifespan that varies and we’re still trying to figure out how long the tropicals will last,” Moore said. “A typical Monarch butterfly —one that doesn’t have any trauma — will last about two weeks as an adult.”

Conservatory officials hope to draw up to 10,000 visitors during the butterfly exhibit’s run.

Admission is included in the regular $6 ticket for residents ($8 for non-residents). There are also reduced fees for seniors and children.

A Breakfast with the Butterflies event is set for Saturday from 8 to 9:30 a.m. and includes food, butterfly activities and crafts. Admission ranges from $9 to $11 and includes food and exhibit access.