Insect Lore Butterfly Farm - Live Cup of 5 Caterpillars, Reusable Habitat, ST...

We ordered this butterfly kit and overall it was a really special experience to watch the caterpillars grow, form their chrysalises, and eventually become butterflies. My kids are homeschooled, so this was a great hands-on learning project for them. I also really loved that it came with an educational workbook, which was a great addition and helped make the experience even more meaningful. All five caterpillars successfully went into their chrysalis, but only three were able to fully emerge on their own. Two unfortunately got stuck while trying to come out. My only suggestion for the company would be to make the cap or area where the chrysalises attach a little larger. It seemed like they were very close together, and I think having more space could help prevent them from bumping into each other or getting crowded while emerging. We were able to release the three butterflies a few days after they emerged, and it was still a memorable experience for our family. I just wish there had been a little more room for them during the chrysalis stage so all five had the best chance of emerging successfully.

This was very engaging. They made sure that I received at least five caterpillars that would survive. In doing so we ended up with eight. It was fascinating, watching the colors form into the wings, which was a new experience for me as an adult as well. I will definitely refill my kit from this company. The quality was great no real assembly the strap that holds it closed turns into a handle everything I needed was included.

Amazing ! Definitely worth the money!!!! We loved this! I got it for my son’s birthday! I was worried that it wouldn’t work or half would die etc but they didn’t! We had a 10/10 live success rate! Not one passed! It was awesome watching them grow. They grow quick! Also the directions were super easy to understand and read. It’s very easy step bye step guide for children to follow. They give you everything you need. The sugar water you need for your butterfly’s when they hatch, it comes with plenty of! I had both packets left ! I highly recommend this for anyone who wants to get their child a science type birthday gift or a life cycle type gift. This is so much cooler and more fun than a plastic toy! It was worth every penny and we’ll be ordering again next spring!

What a waste of money and upset kids! Got the set of 10. We ended up with 3 good butterflies in the end, 1 that could not fly, 1 that died, and the remaining either died while trying to emerge or just never emerged. - We started out with 10 caterpillars. 2 cups of 5. Within a day we had 9. Assuming one got eaten by another??? - Once the remaining 9 got into their chrysalises, 4 immediately fell. We ended up out of the 2 packs only having 5 (3 and 2) that stuck to the lid. We scooped the remaining up as suggested, put it on a paper towel, and leaned it against the mesh. - 5 emerged (HALF!)… and out of those only 3 actually flew. Out of 10!!! *1 had crumpled wings and got stuck in the chrysalis (a floor one). It kept getting stuck on its back and died. Kids were horrified. * A second floor one had one good wing and a half wing, could not fly. * Third floor one was good!!! * Fourth floor one died trying to emerge * 2 of the 5 hanging ones emerged just fine! * 3 of the 5 hanging ones never even emerged!! Not the fun kids project it was supposed to be!! Never again!

All 10 caterpillars arrived healthy and happy. Webbing was made previous to arrival, they are all moving around nicely. My kiddos can’t wait to watch them as they grow into butterflies. They love the hard play cycle of life as well, all around amazing and great quality! The booklet is adorable, and the instructions were on point.

Cool experience! comes with clear instructions. the caterpillars were eating well, turned into pupas at different times maybe a day or so apart. they all came out during the night so we did not see the magic :) it was still cool to wake up and see them all as butterflies. one sadly died, not sure why, we found it on the bottom of the enclosure all dried up on day 2 :( - will be giving her a proper burial as per our 5 yo wish. the entire experience took 2 weeks - we let them out June 11 and started on May 28. i felt like we were waiting too long in the end trying to feed them, they were ready to fly out on day 2 or 3, did not want to really eat much of syrup or sweet fruit. in the beginning, we kept caterpillars inside the kitchen storage without direct light or AC, and the butterflies were out in the room but also out of direct sunlight or AC. kids were checking on them every morning and loved to watch them when they started flying!

All caterpillars arrived alive and well - took about a week and than they all turned into chrysalises as described. One was smooshed in the process of transferring them into the netted cage, but as of yesterday we have 8 butterflies, now. One chrysalis hasn’t hatched yet, and unsure if it will - all the caterpillars turned to chrysalises within hours of each other. Now why I rated 4 stars: says to release at max of 5 days after hatching - google search does say max of 7 days if absolutely necessary due to weather. It’s freezing cold at night here, still. Today’s high was 70, but then the next week and a half is going to be high of 50*F, and mostly rain, lows in the 200s-30’s. We still get heavy frosts now and then, and especially now with the incoming rain/sleet… I wish there was a big warning to order the kits maybe after May or into June for those of us in colder regions. I didn’t even know Painted Ladies migrated from southern areas, unlike the native species here. So maybe my review will help those in the northern states to know these butterflies won’t (usually) survive if less than 40*F, and rarely ever make it below 20* - don’t do well with cold and rainy, and best is when daytime highs are consistently around 70-80* - so online sources say. Now I’m feeling bad about keeping these guys caged longer than expected, and unsure once released if they will even survive 😩 flowers have started sprouting in these areas, but still a good week or two before majority will start to bloom, so also worried about their food sources. It is a cool learning experience, though. Definitely recommend looking up info before buying live insects online - I learned the hard way. Hope they make it.

This is a great gift. My 4 year old grandson watched the little worms make a chrysalis and then break out as beautiful butterflies which we said good bye to as they flew away into the summer sky. He was fascinated by it. When I got the box I thought the worms were all dead, but no, they all did their thing and it's a great science project

I'm in Canada and they did not include the larvae. I paid over $100, they should not have shipped it to Canada if we weren't able to use it in Canada. Priced way too high for the quality.

So freaking cool!! So gross (I’m not a bug person! But these guys are amazing to watch!!)

Very disappointed as it takes weeks to arrive.. every stage happened well the package traveled to me.. one butterfly ( that was nice to see) but not for that price..

All the butterflies had died on arrival. The children and teachers were very disappointed. I would like a refund

Arrived without caterpillars & had a note in box to return item