Insect Lore Live Butterfly Garden

I bought one of these last year for my nieces. I also got one for me, and I'm in my 30's. I waited until the spring time to send in my caterpillar certificate. They came in their own little container with just enough food. So you don't need to feed them anything. I tried to put some real food such as leaves from the plants they like to eat in the wild, but they preferred the food that came with them. I think I received 6 caterpillars and they all turned into butterflies. I let them go a day or two after they emerged. Kids are completely fascinated by the process from caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly. One word of caution, it may not be the best thing to get for Christmas since you may have to wait until spring to get your caterpillars. They will send them in the winter, but I didn't want the butterflies to die on me or freeze to death if I let them go.

I bought this kit for my 5-year-old, but my 3-year-old wound up loving it every bit as much as the older one. The caterpillars arrive in a sealed container with everything they need--all you have to do is observe them. After a week, we placed the cocoons in the habitat, and out hatched five gorgeous butterflies. What's more, they began laying eggs within a few days, and before you know it, we had DOZENS of teeny-tiny baby caterpillars! Of course, we set them free outside (I'm no bug farmer), and we enjoyed painted lady butterflies throughout the rest of the summer. This kit provided my children with a wonderful, exciting learning experience that they will never forget!

We set up a Butterfly Garden for the kids and, as you've probably already read by others' reviews, they loved it. What surprised me most was how intrigued I found *myself* by it. All 5 caterpillars grew remarkably quickly, and all five emerged as loveable butterflies - the surprise was how I caught myself calling the kids over to look and running when they called me to take a peek at them. They were the best pets I ever had for a month! No muss, no fuss - and what a great experience, even for the he-man, butterfly-poo-pooin' dad.

My son received the butterfly garden as a birthday gift. We were going out of town, so asked to have the caterpillars delivered at a later date. They came on the exact date requested! The caterpillars were very small the first day, but grew so quickly that I wondered if we could actually watch them grow before our eyes (it certainly seemed that way)! It took only one week for the chrysalides to form, and only one more week for the butterflies to hatch. There is no feeding required for the caterpillars (they arrive in a container with their entire food supply)--all the kids need to do is watch them! My son and daughter both woke up each morning and would come running to tell me how big the caterpillars were. Then they watched them form into chrysalides, and still watched them each day until they hatched. The day we released the butterflies, my son looked at me and said "I sure am going to miss my beautiful butterflies!...Mom, can we get some more?"

I student teach in a fifth grade classroom, and I've discovered that this butterfly garden is the perfect subject for scientific journals and beginning diagrams. Our class watched five butterflies metamorphasize over the course of about a month. As a writing exercise, I asked each of my students to write a review about the butterfly habitat. Here is what they wrote: "I liked watching the stages of the butterflies. I liked watching the butterflies flying around.""It seems like the butterflies are cramped, but I like it because it has sunlight for them. It's a perfect habitat.""I like the butterflies because they are fun to look at, and they are beautiful. I have learned a lot about butterflies.""We liked raising the butterflies, watching them grow up, and seeing them go from a caterpillar to a butterfly." One even wrote, "I like the butterflies because I think it is a good learning experience. The butterflies are very pretty," and, "I like the butterflies because before they went into their cocoons I think their heads fell off!!" As you can see, the children really enjoyed watching metamorphosis in their classroom. I don't think they'll ever forget watching the butterflies grow up, so they will really remember the stages of butterfly metamorphosis. Overall, I would also rate this habitat highly. I was afraid that the caterpillars would take a long time to arrive, but they arrived less than a week after I mailed the pre-addressed postcard asking for them to be sent. (That was in February) The habitat wasn't as sturdy as it could have been, but its clear sides made observation easy when lots of children wanted to see inside. The teacher I work with is kind enough to feed the butterflies everyday, and it looks like a pretty sticky job! (The butterflies eat normal sugar water.) Feeding them after they emerge from their cocoons will be a little messy. It was incredibly easy to raise these butterflies. Even with 21 students peering at them and jostling their habitat, all five of the butterflies made it. Our fifth grade class highly recommends this easy-to-build, fun-to-watch scientific habitat.

We have used this kit at our science museum in Dallas for several years. The company is reliable and the children have rarely been disappointed with their catterpillars. My own children still ask me to buy the catterpillars every year and never tire of watching the metamorphosis take place right before their eyes. I highly recommend this product for all ages and it makes a great children's birthday gift.

We loved the success and miraculous growth of our butterflies so much, I am ordering these kits for several children (including a replacement for our own family). All five caterpillars formed chrysalides, and 4 emerged as Painted Ladies. Because our temperatures dropped unexpectedly in So. Cal., we kept our butterflies inside. My girls enjoyed making carnation "salads" for their pets. Similar to all the other reviews, we ran to the "garden" each time we came home or woke up, to see changes every time.

We got this kit at a toy store, because my 4 year old had been learning about butterflies and caterpillars at pre-school. He was fascinated with them and talked about them all the time! The kit came with a coupon that you mailed in for 5 caterpillars. As soon as they came, my two boys (7 and 4) were fascinated with it. They were just studying it all the time. When we finally let the butterflies go, it was wonderful to see them fly away.

I plan to purchase this kit as a gift for my nieces. It was wonderful!

When all the other birthday presents were getting old, my four year old grandson had a fascinating project to watch. We watched as the larvae increased dramatically in size, formed chrysalides and turned into butterflies. One chrysalide was not able to break out of it's shell completly and my grandson said "that one is not having good luck, is it", a good lesson in life. The others made it just fine, we released them and I had a painted lady to light on my shoulder and another crawl on my finger in the yard in the following weeks. Of course I am convinced that they were ours! They thought of everything and actually arrived on the exact day I requested! What a wonderful experience for both of us!

My 5 year old daughter loved following the life cycle of the butterflies. I am sure she will always remember the summer we had a butterfly house.

We received 5 caterpillars at exactly the time requested and all 5 caterpillars survived and became butterflies!

It was wonderful to see the pride in my daughter's face when her "babies" were born.

What a great "toy"!