Insect Lore Butterfly Garden Kit - 5 Live Baby Caterpillars, Habitat, Feeder, Chrys-A-Lid Log, STEM Journal Included - Grow, Raise and Release Painted Lady Butterflies

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.

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.

A wonderful gift for children and adults! I’ve done this two years in a row and exciting and fun each time.

We absolutely loved this butterfly habitat and amazing value for the money we paid. When we first got it, we were a little worried because it was winter and we honestly thought the eggs might be dead. To our surprise, they survived and thrived, which made the whole experience even more exciting. The habitat was incredibly easy to set up and care for, even with kids involved. Everything felt simple and manageable, and it quickly became part of our daily routine. The growth rate was only a few weeks and very manageable size to have set up in our house yet out of the way. Watching the caterpillars grow, form chrysalises, and eventually turn into butterflies was fascinating and truly magical. My kids were completely captivated. It sparked so many great conversations and questions, and it was such a fun, hands-on way for them to learn. Having this real-life experience in our home was far more impactful than any book or video. I highly recommend this to any family looking for something educational, not messy at all, engaging, and memorable.

I bought this kit to take it for a test drive. My thoughts were I would pass along the cage to the kids upstairs and lend it to the local library. (I saw I could buy just the caterpillars alone for cheaper) One of the caterpillars lived for two days then died. I was going to keep a star back, but overall that didn't seem fair. I have to admit as a 62 year old adopted aunt, the process was less than exciting. Again, my problem, not nature's. For me it was basically watching paint dry, though that said, my Painted Ladies did their metamorphosis thing WAY ahead of time. ;) I expected to have to wait twice the time for each step. I am hoping to clean the cage and continue with my Fairy GodAunt plans for neighbors and library, maybe a preschool or so.

This butterfly habitat was a huge hit in my kindergarten classroom! My students loved watching the caterpillars grow and transform into butterflies. Setup was easy, the directions were clear, and the included worksheets were great for reinforcing the life cycle. I also love that the supplies are reusable—I just need to repurchase caterpillars each year. Highly recommend for primary classrooms!