Insect Lore Butterfly Growing Kit - With Voucher to Redeem Caterpillars Later
- Pop-up, reusable 11.5-inch tall mesh habitat perfect for butterfly viewing; includes feeding dropper and complete instructions
- Witness one of nature's most spectacular transformations up close
- Caterpillars ship separately via included voucher (Additional $7.95 for processing); packaging may vary
- Shipping: Live caterpillars are shipped to destinations within the Continental USA and Alaska. We cannot ship live caterpillars to Hawaii
- STEM.org Authenticated butterfly garden can help cultivate an interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics)
AmandaRauscher
... to my 6 year old nephew and he absolutely loved it! His first order of caterpillars arrived nearly ...
Gave this to my 6 year old nephew and he absolutely loved it! His first order of caterpillars arrived nearly full grown but when my sister contacted the company about it they sent a new batch for free. At this point he has raised three batches of butterflies and has plans to do it again next spring. I will say some of the butterflies emerged from their cocoons with malformed wings and died pretty quickly- but my sister saw this as an opportunity to teach my nephew about nature.
LaurenLangley
LOVED doing this project with my 4 year old daughter
LOVED doing this project with my 4 year old daughter. Not only did she learn a lot about the life cycle of butterflies, but so did I! We had 6 butterflies all grow and get set free into the world! I thought she would have a hard time letting them fly away but she wanted them to go explore the world and fly. The best part was when setting them free, they kept coming back and landing on her! She said they were thanking her for taking care of them ♡ Two of them refused to leave her open hand so we kept them a few extra days before trying again. This time they did fly off. The last one to leave came back several days later and flew around while she played outside. We knew it was the same one because of the mark on its wing. Great experience and so very easy to care for.
GladysFayeOdom
Perfect if you dont mind spending extra $$
-You pay more to get your caterpillars -Shouldn't ship during very hot/cold weather I'm so happy I got this. I had to wait to order the caterpillars because I got this kit during 110°+ weather. I couldn't wait any longer and ordered Sept. 19th during 97°. I chose 2 day fed ex delivery for $14.95 because I was paranoid of killing them, but they arrived active and healthy! I paid an extra $10 to get the 2nd cup of caterpillars plus I bought the chrysalis holder (After delivery I realized each cup comes with a chrysalis holder, so you don't need to buy them). My total on their website was $27.89. We're watching them eat and grow now. Cannot wait for more changes. 11/11 caterpillars made it to butterflies. Will be doing this again in the spring. 9/18: Ordered Caterpillars 9/21: Received Caterpillars 9/26-9/27: All formed into Chrysalis 10/3-10/4: Butterflies emerge We kept them for a few days feeding them cut grapes, strawberry, and watermelon pieces. You get to watch them feed from the fruit. Then my 3 year old released them at the park. He had each of them crawl onto his hand to release them. Most stayed on his hand for a few moments before flying. I think this is a great experience.
MaeSophiaHarsh
Kids loved it!
I bought this for my 10 year old daughter who loves all things nature. It was amazing! The self contained cup cake with tiny caterpillars that grew without any need for care whatsoever in just a few days. It was amazing to watch! They made their cocoons as expected and hatched into beautiful butterflies! All 5 hatched perfectly! Directions are very easy and the only thing really required is to open the cup and put the lid with the cocoons into the habitat. Only warning make sure you order this understanding that they arrive alive and ready to start the process immediately. So do not order if you plan to be away on vacation or anything. Once they make cocoons you have to move them to the habitat. If they hatched in the cup they would die. Feeding the butterflies is easy and fun and you release them in a few days. My daughter loved it so much we bought one for her class! The 4th graders loved watching them grow and transform and leaned all about the lifecycle of a butterfly!!
CarolJohnsonTurner
Really cool - you just have to order the caterpillars separately
This product is basically just a net with a voucher but the experience was so awesome we've now done it multiple times. You use the voucher to go to InsectLore and get a jar of caterpillars. You have to pay for shipping but not the caterpillars. They arrive. They really crap up their jar. It's not at all like it's pictured. That thing is so gross by the time they're in their cocoons, you can barely see inside. But that's not the point. You just wait for them to get into their cocoons. They attach to the lid. You peel the lid off, prop them up in this little plastic stand thing that comes with the net, put them in the net, and a few days later they emerge as butterflies. Really very cool to do with your kids and SO easy.
TrishaRedlund
A great addition to home school animal science
This set is perfect for homeschooling and just for fun. I purchased this set for my daughter, whom i home school. She absolutely loved watching the caterpillars turn into butterflies. The set includes a voucher for ordering caterpillars. Ordering the caterpillars was simple and quite easy to do. The caterpillars arrived quickly and in great condition. This set includes everything you will need to watch the beautiful transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly. Even my teenager enjoyed watching and learning about caterpillars and butterflies. I would highly recommend this product to anyone with kids who are interested in caterpillars and/or butterflies. A must have for any homeschooler learning about the butterfly/caterpillar life cycle or animal science in general.
ItsnotYoume
Great educational project for kids.
This past holiday season I wanted to get all my kids educational related gifts (they get enough other crap - i.e. toys, video games, etc - from family members). I opted for this for my 6 year old daughter. What a success. Even my two sons got involved and learned something new. Every day they grew visibly, and the kids almost didn't believe me that they would emerge from the cocoons. They look so lifeless towards the end. But all 5 caterpillars survived and my kids were even lucky enough to catch the last 2 as they were emerging from their cocoons.
JeffGray
Great kit, but watch out for hidden costs!
This is a really good kit, but beware of the hidden costs! The price of the kit does NOT include caterpillars. If you buy the kit, they give you a code to purchase caterpillars for free, but you still get charged about $5 for shipping and handling, plus more if you want the caterpillars expedited with 2 day shipping, which they recommend so that your caterpillars don't die in transit. I chose not to pay more and chose regular shipping, and my caterpillars arrived within 3 days in excellent condition. If you want another batch of caterpillars you have to pay about $15 for the caterpillars plus shipping. So buyer beware! But in spite of that, this is a GREAT little science kit. My 4 year old son was fascinated by the caterpillars that arrived. They come sealed in a little plastic tub with a layer of food on the bottom, so you don't have to feed them or tend to them at all, just make sure they are neither too hot nor cold, and watch them grow! They eat the food on the bottom and hang on the top and turn into chrysalises. About a week later they turn into butterflies, and then you can feed them fruit or sugar water, which is a lot of fun too. We received 6 caterpillars and all 6 of them turned into butterflies. So beautiful and really great learning for the little ones (and us big ones too). A note: Make sure you are going to be home for at least 3 weeks when you order the butterflies. If you go out of town you might miss the transformation, and also once they turn into butterflies you need to be home to feed them.
MarkNollan
Great experience for kids
If you buy this kit through the actual website, they'll charge you shipping so it makes more sense to buy it from Amazon if you have prime already. I would recommend buying the actual kit without the voucher to avoid paying the additional shipping to get the worms as well . The kit was very informative and easy to follow where it even has many answered FAQ. I believe the time frame for the hatch was about four weeks so plan accordingly. With the five worms that I received, all five hatched into beautiful butterflies. It was amusing to see how fast the worms grew within just a few days they would keep doubling in size. Prior to the butterflies emerging from their cocoon, make sure that you cover the base of the net wth several pieces of paper because the red liquid that the butterflies drip could possibly leak through the napkin and stain the net. Unfortunately during our release, they didn't want to stick around and quickly flew away. The kit worked great and was worth the experience. I had also purchased the ladybug kit and that was even easier to care for.
KenziePatton
Voted best aunt ever for this gift!!!!
I bought this for my 51/2 yr old niece who is scared of butterflies and bugs in general. I wanted to see if I could show her the cool side of bugs that I love so much. Boy was this a total hit. In fact, our whole family was following the weekly updates on he butterflies. I’ll do this again and again. Maybe moving onto the praying mantis next. P.S. the Catipillars arrived the size of a rice grain and in three days they were an inch long. The pic is of them a week old. Soooo cool that you can really see a change every day.