Insect Lore Raise and Release Butterfly Garden Kit – Caterpillar Habitat with redeemable Voucher – STEM-accredited Butterfly Growing Kit for Kids, Classrooms, and Homeschool Learning

I went back and forth on whether to give this 5 stars or not. I have used an Insect Lore Butterly pavilion for over 20 years and needed another to share with students in a classroom. I purchased this item here on Amazon on 12/10/2004. I used the listing from my order history to order a new one. However, I didn't carefully read the current listing. The original is 2' tall by 14" wide. This one is 12" tall by 10" wide. Very big difference!! You can go to Insect Lore and purchase the same one I have for $14.95 - with shipping and tax it comes to $28. (I know not everyone wants a large one, and taller means tippier if you have small children.) The habitat is an excellent design, sturdy, well made and just the right size to put on a counter or coffee table where everyone can watch them grow. The plastic feeder that comes with this kit is cute, but it's very tiny. The journal booklet is nice, but Insect Lore ought to make it available as a free download - or maybe for $1 - for those who want to print their own. They're charging $3.99 each on their site, supposedly marked down from $5. With all of that said, I've been growing butterflies with children for over 20 years. I've done this with my own children, at schools, home school co-ops, in our neighborhood and at church. (I can highly recommend Clearwater Butterfly for purchasing caterpillars.) I can't say enough about what a wonderful experience this is, and it's a lot easier than growing chicks - haha - take it from me! Praying mantises are also great and fascinating. Ants and ladybugs too - just do that in your garden/yard - not in the house! Try them all and teach your children and your friends' children to love insects and God's extraordinary creation. There is nothing like the touch of a butterfly on your hand and then watching it fly away, especially for a child. This is one of the best grandparent, aunt or uncle gifts - not to be left for the parents to-do list, though! Make it a special thing you do with them and make some memories.

Here’s the thing: this is a quality product. Easy to get started, quality caterpillars. Very fun. But I do wish someone had warned me about how completely disgusting this entire process is. The gross caterpillars, gross caterpillar food. Don’t get me started on the chrysalis phase and blood red substance that drips from the butterflies themselves. I will order this again to further traumatize my parent friends. Just know you have been warned.

The Live Butterfly Garden by Insect Lore is a fun, hands- on educational experience that is certain to appeal to even the most stubborn, disinterested child. With the Live Butterfly Garden, children get to observe the process of metamorphosis, right before their eyes. Starting with caterpillars, children watch the little critters eat food, create a cocoon, and then transform into fully grown adult butterflies. The butterflies can then be observed in their habitat for a while before setting free. This butterfly garden is great for dozens of reasons, the most obvious of which is the educational value. Reading about insects and metamorphosis is one thing, but seeing the process live is another thing entirely. Kids get to learn how caterpillars/butterflies live, eat, and thrive; how to care for them; etc. They get to observe the caterpillars and butterflies at play and watch the butterflies eat their food, which is provided in the package. The caterpillars that come with the Live Butterfly Garden are painted ladies, which are not very common and will not be recognized by most children. However, most kids won't care- the fun of watching these small caterpillars transform into butterflies will have many kids gazing in awe, and prompt them to ask many questions. This educational toy is a huge hit and my kids loved it, but there were a few small issues. One was waiting for the caterpillars to arrive in the mail. To get the caterpillars, you have to mail in an included certificate, along with a check, and then wait. It seems like an eternity, especially from the perspective of young children, and it took longer than expected. Anther problem was parting with the butterflies. Once you have the caterpillars and they have transformed into adult butterflies, the next problem will be setting them free. Kids will grow attached to their small, winged friends and will not want to let them go. Another minor issue is with the transferring of the caterpillars from their small container- the one you receive in the mail- into the actual habitat. The container that the caterpillars arrive in has a paper area at the top, where the caterpillars will hang as they spin their cocoons. This paper section is fairly easy to remove, but the problem is that the cocoons are very delicately attached, and that means that some will fall off when the transfer is made. You will need to pin this piece of paper to the inside of the butterfly garden, but the kit doesn't include any pins. Safety pins or straight pins work, and it would have been nice if these were included in the kit. Still, when all factors are considered, the Live Butterfly Garden is worth the purchase and young children will enjoy the educational experience. Sure, it could be improved a little bit by making a few minor changes, but this is still a very good toy and considering my kid's fascination with the process, along with the educational value, it earns an easy recommendation.

What a fun summer toy, great way to teach kids interactive science! Easy to set up and priced right!

I purchased this kit since it was cheaper than getting just the caterpillars without it and the voucher. The habitat is like a miniature mesh hamper that you can get from Ikea and comes with the voucher, instructions with some facts, and a thin dropper for feeding. You can use the dropper to sprinkle sugar water on fresh flowers, or feed them oranges and watermelon. I took away a star because my kit did not come with a safety pin or anything to attach the paper with the chrysalis to the side of the garden. (I can't believe I couldn't find one around the house, I know I have them somewhere!) I ended up using a fashion pin since there was enough space for it. After receiving the kit I sent away for the caterpillars for $5 and they were supposed to arrive through UPS. Unfortunately, UPS transferred ours to USPS a few states away and it took longer to get them than expected- by almost a week. They all survived, but they were full grown at that point. We were hoping to watch them grow and molt. The day after we received them, 3 out of 5 attached themselves to the top of the cup to form the chrysalis, and the other 2 did the following day. About a week later they emerged in the morning between 7am-9am- 3 on one day, 2 the next, like clockwork. I was able to get the last one on video after I realized they weren't going to come out with us sitting right in front of them with the camera, I think they're looking out and making sure it's safe. I put the camera on a tripod to the side of the garden and walked away, it only took 5 minutes. I recommend putting down a paper plate with a paper towel on the floor of the garden, the amount of meconium (which looks like blood) was a little more than I expected. We had no problems with them flying out while changing the bottom liner and food. Only two days after emerging, two are mating. We were hoping to observe them for 5 days but will have to let them go today to lay their eggs. Even though I wish we had them for the full amount of time to observe more, they are truly a wonder, and beautiful! It was a great experience for my homeschooled daughter and I highly recommend it to anyone. To watch it hands-on is truly amazing.

I ordered this kit for my 14 year old daughter for Christmas. She waited patiently for warmer weather. We placed the order for our caterpillars an waited on delivery notification. On the day they arrived, they were in cute packaging. She was excited! The instructions were clear and easy. She has done every part without help. We've watched them form cocoons and hatch. We were missing 2 caterpillars upon arrival. I wrote to customer service and they quickly responded and placed replacement caterpillars in the mail. Each morning my children ran to see if they were out of their cocoons. After the waiting period, we took the butterflies to our park group for a butterfly release. This has been a fun learning experience for the entire family. The packaging was perfect. Shipping was reasonable. Our customer service experience was exceptional. The kit was ready to use, sturdy and came with everything needed except the nectar. I will probably purchase more of these kits for my grandchildren.

Angry rant follows. I've used these cages (and several others by different manufacturers) for many years. I've probably purchased a dozen of this exact model, many from Amazon. These are, as the Amazon description says, "A family and classroom favorite for almost 50 years." They can be bleached, stored, and reused. From year to year, the dimensions sometimes change a bit or the fabric component has a different pattern, but until now, I have found the quality of this Insect Lore cage to be excellent. However, the two cages I just bought do NOT have the clear, vinyl lid still pictured, but rather -- for the first time ever -- super-crummy, lightweight, slippery, nasty, horrible, no-good MESH lids! This has been terrible for my monarchs and a real annoyance for me this season. Like many larvae, these little guys like to wander about, spreading their silk around the "roof" before settling down in earnest to place a serious silk button and screw in their wee cremasters for a good, safe hang before pupating. With the old vinyl lids, I never had a problem gingerly unzipping the flap to maintain my Late Johnnies who were still eating while their siblings continued to dangle safely and securely. No worries: the silk stayed in place. Insect Lore should know that a critical function of a semi-stiff, clear, zippable plastic lid is that you can DO such maintenance. It is essential to be able to remove frass or swap out fodder while leaving attached chrysalises secure. Unfortunately, this lousy mesh does not provide a proper surface for secure adhesion of the silk, nor anything else. The entire RAFT of silk has come unstuck on each of the new cages. A couple of chrysalises have fallen as a result. Now I must hang entire batches by pinning -- a technique I don't happen to prefer, but I guess it will do until the season is over. The new mesh lids do not allow me to tape up a fallen chrysalis, a method I like a lot when a cremaster cannot easily be tied by thread. The mesh is so slippery that I can't even slap on the adhesive office notes I use to track dates, numbers, and instars. They just fall off. I have to PIN on the bl**dy notes now. Agh! More pins! The original design allowed perfectly sufficient airflow, so I can't see that as an argument for the change. What on earth was Insect Lore thinking? Cost? Just charge me a dollar more, please. I'm returning these, but can't do it until the season is over because I need the real estate. I'll close by saying that if you've read this far (gosh, I'm sorry) AND if you only plan to use this cage once to rear a cup of Painted Lady larvae you got with a coupon, then you may be much happier with this new version of the product than I am. Your larvae, if they are of similar size, are likely to pupate at about the same time, and you're probably using that insta-food in the jar they gave you (it looks like yellow goo). You might be ignoring the frass (caterpillar poop), because it's so difficult to remove from the jar. If that's so, you won't be doing any real maintenance. You won't be hanging fallen chrysalises nor slapping on a dozen Post-It notes for record-keeping, as I do. So my advice to you would be to buy this silly thing and ignore my rant -- just DON'T mess with the zipper once you see those chrysalises hanging, if you let them do it on the cage lid, outside their jar.

I bought this for my 5 year old. Along the way he had lots of fun and he learnt a whole lot about the butterfly lifecycle. Though the lot doesn’t come with Caterpillars, they give you a coupon to order it. The Insect Lore Butterfly Garden is a great way for kids to learn about the life cycle of a butterfly. The kit comes with everything you need, including a habitat, food, and caterpillars. The instructions are clear and easy to follow, and kids will love watching the caterpillars grow and change into butterflies. One of the best things about the Insect Lore Butterfly Garden is that it's a hands-on experience. Kids get to feed the caterpillars, water them, and watch them grow. They also get to learn about the different stages of metamorphosis. This is a great way for kids to learn about nature and science. The Insect Lore Butterfly Garden is also a great way to get kids interested in gardening. The caterpillars need milkweed leaves to eat, so kids will need to plant milkweed in their garden. This is a great way for kids to learn about gardening and the importance of pollinators. Overall, the Insect Lore Butterfly Garden is a great educational toy for kids. It's fun, educational, and a great way to get kids interested in nature. Here are some pros and cons of the Insect Lore Butterfly Garden: Pros: - Fun and educational - Easy to use - Comes with everything you need - Kids get to see the butterfly life cycle up close - Encourages kids to learn about nature and gardening Cons: - Can be a bit messy - Caterpillars can be fragile - Shipping can be expensive Overall, the Insect Lore Butterfly Garden is a great educational toy for kids. It's fun, educational, and a great way to get kids interested in nature.

I purchased this item with trepidation after reading the reviews that the code would not work in the UK and that caterpillars could not be redeemed with a USA code if you were sent the wrong box. My daughter saved her pocket money for this after doing it at school, so we went ahead and purchased it. It arrived this morning. The leaflet inside has a special code that you enter either by post (with £2.99 to cover the shipping of the caterpillar larvae) or you can also enter it online and pay via paypal, which I did. It was VERY quick and easy, I can only assume that some people have been very unfortunate and have received USA stock by mistake, or that the newer stock is all UK butterfly garden boxes. Anyway, I have paid the fee and eagerly await the caterpillars being despatched. You can only pick from a limited list of delivery dates so be prepared to wait at least a week or more for your caterpillars to arrive. ALSO - if you want to do this, eggs are ONLY AVAILABLE in the spring and summer months so be sure you order this item at the right time otherwise it will be useless until the next butterfly season! The box only contains the butterfly net/house, a feeding pipette, and instruction booklet, as well as your unique code to redeem the caterpillars. THIS IS MADE ABUNDANTLY CLEAR! I cannot understand the bad reviews from those intellectually challenged people who seem to think LIVE animals can be kept indefinitely on a shelf until they are sold. Caterpillars life cycle takes about 5 weeks so they would be dead and gone before the kits were sold! Of course they charge a handling fee to get you fresh larvae sent out. If people cant comprehend this basic fact, maybe they don't have the requisite intelligence to be explaining life cycles to a child. Don't be disappointed to find NO LIVE INSECTS in your kit! Sheeeesh! (eye roll).... I will update this reviews when the larvae arrive! 27/07/13 - caterpillars arrived today. They are about 1cm long, black and hairy, and are in a small clear plastic cup with a lid and a cardboard sleeve that can be rotated around the cup to view the caterpillars. Already there are some silk like threads being spun at the bottom of the cup. Four of the caterpillars are very active and can clearly be seen crawling about and eating the thick jelly stuff at the bottom of the cup. The fifth caterpillar is alive but quite inactive and has not moved much. Some have even ventured to the underside of the cup lid. 31/07/13 - all five caterpillars are still alive, though the slow/inert one is still lying at the bottom of the cup not having moved much. They have more than trebled in size since they arrived, the largest one is now about 2.5 - 3cm long. The inside of the cup looks a bit gross now with all the caterpillar waste product (frass) and shed skins. since last night alone they are noticeably fatter; it's amazing just how fast they grow, there can be a marked difference between day and night. In this warmer weather the process is, according to the booklet, much faster. I'm expecting the chrysalis's to start forming over the next few days. At this point I'm hoping for 5 successful butterflies! 02/08/13 - 4 of the caterpillars are now hanging from the lid of the cup, one seems to be a bit more ahead of the others as it has already formed somewhat of a thick cocoon over itself, the others just look like they are hanging there. The fifth caterpillar is making its way to the top of the cup. I hope they all form cocoons at the same time as I don't know what to do if some have not and some have, as the instructions say you should not open the lid until all are hanging from the top (you can introduce bacteria etc into their environment otherwise). Exciting! 05/08/13 - All five caterpillars made it into the cocoon stage, but one was hanging not from the lid but from another cocoon. We opened the lid as per instructions and cleaned away the silk strands and debris (this apparently can cause the butterflies to become entangled and have deformed wings if you don't do this). The cocoon that was hanging from another cocoon, we have detached and laid on a paper towel at the bottom of the enclosure. The instructions say this is okay and it should still hatch out. We are now to wait for the cocoons to turn a very dark colour, and the butterflies are suppose to hatch the same day! This stage was quite yucky if I'm honest and may gross out a sensitive child, as there were 'bits' of old caterpillar skin and what looks like blood (its just 'meconium' according the booklet!). We now wait expectantly for our butterflies! It is interesting to note that the cocoons were shaking quite violently on their own as we were doing this, apparently this is a defence mechanism! Very strange to see. 12/08/13 - First butterfly hatched out yesterday morning. We missed the actual event but it was sitting at the bottom of the enclosure. Have put fresh cut oranges and peaches in the net, as well as some fresh flowers sprayed with 'nectar' (sugar water) as per instructions. The second butterfly hatched this afternoon, and a third looks like it is about to emerge. We have taken lots of pictures. Two down, three to go! 13/08/13 - Two hatched out yesterday afternoon after writing my update. We actually caught the second one on video emerging from its cocoon - you have to be fast because once it starts, it's out in about 5 seconds, it is not the slow process you might imagine! We were very lucky to catch it. A fair amount of red 'blood' drips from their back ends once emerged, so put your habitat on some newspaper. This morning we released all four butterflies as the fifth one was not hatched yet. We got some lovely pictures - they are happy to sit on your fingers etc as you place them on the plants. My daughter was a bit teary for a while but after explaining that her new friends needed to be free to see the world etc and that they would come back and visit her if they could, she felt a bit better. The fifth butterfly hatched in the last two hours, so he will be released this afternoon, as I feel they should not be kept in the net any longer then necessary. In summary this has been an amazing experience for both adult and child. The whole process from receiving larvae to releasing the butterflies took 17 days. I highly recommend this item, we are already thinking about doing it again next summer!

veio sem as larvas. e não consigo devolver, pois está dando erro no site e app! não comprem

Ich habe das Schmetterlingsset sowohl für meinen damals 7jährigen Sohn als auch für meinen 9jährigen Neffen gekauft. Es ist alles im Set super beschrieben. Man muss über den beiliegenden Gutschein per Internet die Raupen bestellen. Und nochmals was bezahlen. Das wußte ich vorher, sodass dies nichts "Überraschendes" war. Die Raupen kamen wohlbehalten bei uns an. Wir haben uns genau an die Vorschriften gehalten und nach einigen Wochen konnten die entwickelten Schmetterlinge in die Freiheit entlassen werden. Die Kinder brauchten dabei immer die Unterstützung der Erwachsenen, was aber ja kein Problem war, denn auch wir Erwachsenen fanden das Projekt spannend! Die Entwicklungsstufen zu sehen, das war schon aufregend! Es ist zauberhaft, so nah dabei zu sein, wenn sich ein fast fertig entwickelter Schmetterling auf ein Stück Banane oder Orange stürzt. Bedenken sollte man, dass sich die Aufzucht schon etwas hinzieht und man sich schon kümmern muss. Also auch an den eigenen Urlaub denken! Und den Kinder muss klar sein, dass sie die Tiere ziemlich schnell, wenn sie fertig entwickelt sind, in die Freiheit entlassen müssen. Das geht dann sehr aprubt. Aber wenn die Kinder das wissen, ist es kein Problem.

Purchased for my granddaughter. She loves it. It’s a great learning tool. Certainly recommend it.

This pack came with a voucher to use to breed butterflies. The website is in Czech Republic and the voucher will not work as I am in Ireland.