Insect Lore Butterfly Garden with 10 Live Baby Caterpillars - Habitat, Feeder, Chrys-A-Lid Holders, STEM Activity Journal - Raise and Release Painted Lady Butterflies

The butterfly kit arrived with 5 caterpillars in a container with their food. One caterpillar was behind the others and ulitmately did not survive into a butterfly. The process was very simple since observation of the caterpillars in their container was all there was to do for about a week. Four of the caterpillars climbed to the bottom of the lid and made what I call a cocoon. Once again, all there was to do for 3 days was to observe the cocoons. They hardened during that time. Once the 3 days passed, I lifted the lid and placed slid it into the slot of the provided plastic piece and place them in the provided habitat.. Observation was all there was to do. Then, after about 5 to 7 days, there were butterflies. One packet of sugar came with the kit, but the instructions said to use two packets of sugar with 1/3 cup of water to make nectar for the butterflies. Once made, a pipette was provided with the kit to draw up the water and to drop the sugar water onto a tiny sponge placed in a colorful plastic "flower" that was with the kit. I made fresh sugar every day, but that's just me. In addition, I put a slice of orange and a slice of apple in the habitat. The butterflies may have smelled the fruit because they began fluttering around with excitement. My husband and I saw them "eating" the orange and apple, but they seemed to like the apple best. We saw two of the butterflies drinking the sugar water. We gave the butterflies an apple and an orange slice each day for three days. On the third day, after I was sure that they had a chance to eat, I took them outside to let them go. Two flew away within a minute or two. One sat on the plastic "flower" and drank and drank for several minutes. It flew away after five minutes or more. The fourth butterfly seems somewhat weak. It gets turned over easily and flaps around on its back. It didn't seem to want to leave. It sat on the plastic "flower" for a good while and drank, then sat on the bottom of the habitat. I waited and waited, but it didn't seem like it wanted to leave yet. I brought it back inside and will try again tomorrow. It's been an interesting experience. I bought one for my sister before I purchased mine. She thoroughly enjoyed the experience as well. All five of her butterflies lived. A friend of mine bought one for her granddaughter, which is where I found out that amazon.com had the kits. Three of her butterflies lived. All of her family found it fascinating. I would recommend this kit to anyone--young or old. It's not a difficult project, but the process is fascinating and educational. The kit came from California, and the painted lady butterflies are supposed to be all over America. All the pieces, except maybe one packet of sugar, were in the kit with five live caterpillars. The caterpillars didn't move much the first day, and one seemed dead upon arrival; but all five ate and moved around within a day or so. Great kit, great project, and wonderful experience.

This was awesome! All 10 turned into butterflies. The kit is so worth it. My students loved it. The activity book was also perfect.

My daughter love to watch the whole process the instructions were easy and the zipper kept her safe or rather the butterflies safe from her. The material used is strong and durable it is the right size to have inside on the table. What a fun thing to do.

My daughter has been getting these kits for YEARS! She absolutely loves them and they are easy enough to care for that she does it completely on her own without help. It’s such a cool and educational experience getting to watch them turn into butterflies.

I originally ordered this kit back in March and it arrived within the time promised, but unfortunately due to some unforeseen hot weather, the caterpillars arrived dead. There were also fewer caterpillars than the promised 10. I reached out to the company and they were initially very helpful and issued a voucher so I could order again when the temperature was under 90 degrees. I reordered directly from the Insect Lore website on April 11, but nothing shipped within the next week. I contacted them again, hoping to quickly take advantage of the cooler weather, but received no response within the promised 48 hours. I have since emailed again, filled out a form on their website, and called the phone number on the website, and yet no response. I am very unhappy with the experience and the money lost, and I will be looking elsewhere for science supplies for my children.

This was such a fun thing for my kids the last few weeks! We ended up with an extra caterpillar so we have 11. Today is hatching day! The whole process has been super easy and fun to watch. Everything has gone smoothly.

Excited to see these turn to butterflies. Received the pack with 2 cups but 1 has 5 caterpillars and the other only 4. Lets see if they all thrive!

All 10 caterpillars were alive when I received them. Easy to do. Now waiting for the butterflies to emerge. Doing this with my grandchild. Very enjoyable.

One of the greatest purchases I've ever made! I adore seeing my daughter's face light up with joy and excitement every day as she checks on them and cares for them. Sadly, I received three caterpillars, but only two of them made it! We had to release them, and that day was both beautiful and bittersweet. We didn't want to say goodbye, but it was heartwarming to see them outside resting on the flowers. Don't wait, get it now! It's the best experience.