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Monday 11 May 2020

Insect Lore Butterfly Garden: Original Habitat and Live Cup of Caterpillars with STEM Butterfly Journal – Life Science & STEM Education – Butterfly Kit


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Life Science and STEM Education for Kids


Learn all about the butterfly life cycle with Insect Lore's best-loved butterfly kit. See Tiny Caterpillars Grow, Grow, Grow into Butterflies!
A family and educator favorite for over 50 years, the Butterfly Garden® with live caterpillars provides fun learning and will engage the whole family. It comes with 5 baby caterpillars and everything you need to get them growing! The entire project takes about 3 weeks. Watch the transformation from caterpillars to chrysalides, to beautiful Painted Lady butterflies - then let your butterflies go to help pollinate our world.

Butterfly feeder color may vary.
Please check the weather in your area. Daytime temperatures must be 55 degrees Fahrenheit or above when you release your butterflies.
We cannot ship live insects to Mexico, Canada, Hawaii, or Puerto Rico.
Ages 4+.



ADVANTAGES :

  • 5 LIVE baby caterpillars and nutritious food.
  • Pop-up, reusable 12 inch tall mesh habitat.
  • Two Deluxe Chrysalis Station Logs and a Flower-shaped Butterfly Feeder.
  • STEM Butterfly Journal with learning activities.
  • Important NOTE! Please postpone your live order if daytime temperatures in your area are below 55 degrees or above 85 degrees Fahrenheit Your caterpillars may not survive their journey to you in extreme heat or cold We cannot ship live insects to Hawaii Mexico Canada or Puerto Rico.


SAMPLE CUSTOMER REVIEW : 

(1) All caterpillars mysteriously died??!!! - We did one of these kits last spring and didn't have much trouble at all, so I knew what to expect this time around.

I noticed upon arrival of my caterpillars that the cups are now different from last year... which would soon prove (in my observation to be a problem.)

The caterpillars all ate and got bigger and bigger just like last year... however when it came time for them to crawl to the top of the cup and form their "J" shapes they seemed to be 'not happy'? I could see the difference from last year.... this time they kept crawling and crawling and trying to 'bite through' the top of the cup lid??? One was so desperately biting the sides of the cup and lid that I could hear the sound of it across the room!!!!???? (We didn't experience this last year)

They kept crawling around the top of the lid and then going back down the sides of the cup as if to be displaying something not suitable for them to position themselves from the top of the cup? We kept watching and they tried and tried to 'get connected' to the lid of the caterpillar cup, and 2 fell down onto the floor and started their transformation ON TOP OF EACH OTHER on the floor, which resulted in lots of condensation and 'wetness' in that area... GROSS!!! Neither of them made it sadly.....

The other 3 still trying up at the top of the cup.... first one managed to somehow connect itself by grass/webbing so it appears to be hanging mid air by only cobwebs if you will? The next one continues crawling around trying to fight and knock the rest down.... one eventually hangs in a J and died like that... never forming into a chrysalis.... and the next one manages to hang by it's belly and therefore head hung the wrong way (backwards) and it died in this position.....

So we have one chrysalis.... BUT I'm thinking it may not make it because from my experience doing this last year, the chrysalis should twitch and twitter when it's moved from cup to mesh habitat and this did not happen :(

If I wouldn't have done this kit last year and experienced a perfect experience, maybe I wouldn't know any better this time around... but something was radically wrong here!!!!! I could 'sense' that these caterpillars were in distress about the top of this cup..... Insectlore has changed something here and it's NOT WORKING!!!!!!! Go back to the old style cups!!!! The caterpillars DON'T LIKE THESE NEW CUPS!!!!!

In the mean time I have a VERY UPSET 6 year old that was waiting to release 5 butterfly's!!! We will be lucky if this one makes it!! I don't think it's alive inside the chrysalis.

The other PROBLEM is that I ordered one kit for myself, and one for my daughter's friend as a birthday gift. They are also having some problems with caterpillars falling to the floor or their cup too! Something not right here!!!!!

I have tried to contact insectlore regarding this problem and the phone number I call keeps saying that's it's after business hours, which it's definitly not!!! They are in CA and I'm in PA, which is 3 hours difference..... I took this into consideration when calling. So I've spent $60 for two kits that are both duds! So anyone thinking about sending a kit as a gift better think twice since the new kit changes.....

Our last butterfly kit we raised was May 2016 and we had no problems like this!!!!

And just to clarify for everyone.... we DID NOT handle the caterpillar cup, we did not shake the cup, we did not put the cup of caterpillars in the sun, we did not have the cup in major temperature changes, we DID bring the package in and open it within an hour of receiving our mail on a spring day. We set the cup of caterpillars on the counter in a spot that was away from any traffic or movement yet in a spot that we could watch them closely..... our house is a constant 70-73 degree temperature during the time that we've had them..... this is SUCH A DISAPPOINTMENT!!!

UPDATE***
The one that was able to transform into chrysalis has died too now :(
I have been researching this to try and figure out what happened here and I think I figured out exactly what the problem is/was..... it's a virus called NPV (Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus) which kills caterpillars. This virus will cause caterpillars to hang in a J and never turn into a chrysalis (like mine did) or will make them hang in an "inverted V shape" (like mine did) or can make them disintegrate or "melt".... (gross!!! Mine did this too) .... so I believe this is exactly what happened to my caterpillars. They were shipped to me with this virus.... at least now I feel better knowing that there was nothing I could do to save them or change it.

So just be aware of you buy this kit, this could happen!

Hope this helps someone like me who just couldn't let it go and had to know what happened to their caterpillars as well!!! It was driving me nuts wondering what went wrong! And everything I read says this virus is VERY CONTAGEOUS so bleach everything the caterpillars came in contact with if you plan to raise more butterfly's after this!!!!!

By Candy Love on May 27, 2017


(2) Annual Tradition in my Class - This is the 4th year in a row I have bought live caterpillars from Insect Lore. They are such a great gift for kids. I use them in my classroom with special needs students to study the life cycle. The students love seeing the transformation and then ultimately releasing the butterflies. It is easy as the caterpillars have enough food before they turn into the pupas. The one thing is that I never keep the butterfly habitat as the butterflies always leak red fluid all over it when they are born out of the pupas. I love how this updated kit has a clear lid on the top of the habitat so that it is easier to see inside.

I never really use the feeder as I just give them oranges and strawberries. Be gentle with the caterpillar cups as the pupas can fall off when the cup is shaken. It's a great project for kids of all ages. Even adults are amazed to see the butterflies. It takes a little over a month for everything to hatch and be released.

By Esther on April 13, 2019



[NOTE / WARNING] - CHOKING HAZARD -- Small parts. Not for children under 3 yrs. 





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