Insect Lore Butterfly Backyard Package, Painted Woman Butterfly Package with Voucher for Stay Caterpillars, Butterfly Habitat, STEM Journal & Extra

Hands- On Educational Experience, and Kid’s Love It!
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.

Doesn’t come with caterpillars
Great product! Just know that it comes with a COUPON with a code for you to go one another website to get the caterpillars mailed to you. So don’t expect them to come in this package. Otherwise perfect net, perfect caterpillars that get sent to you and turn into butterflies! Must have for kids! (I actually loved it just as much as the kids did!)

Perfect safe place to raise your caterpillars!
We found some tiny caterpillars on our lemon tree a few weeks ago and immediately ordered this kit. The netted cage has been the perfect size for feeding, observing growth, and keeping lizards from feasting. After we have grown and released these possible Giant Swallowtails, we plan to send in the coupon that comes with the kits and utilize the journal that were included.Overall great kit and would highly recommend for anyone interested in observing this beautiful transformation that caterpillars go through to become butterflies.

TIPS TO AVOID DEAD BUTTERFLIESThis is a wonderful gift and children are much more likely to remember with fondness a natural wildlife experience like this, rather than a toy. It is easy to keep the net for an annual butterfly project too, and it’s always magical to see them emerge.1. Read all of the literature and view videos beforehand, and then read it all again. In fact, read a few books about insects in general, they are ace! Seriously, you need to not be in a position where the caterpillars turn up and you’re scrambling around looking for the leaflet which somehow has disappeared from the box. Also you don’t want to look like a bumbling amateur in front of kiddies.2. Don’t leave the care of vulnerable darling insects to kids. This all needs the care and dedication of an adult, and if you’re not wringing your hands in anxiety over the fate of these tiny creatures at least twice a day you’re not putting the time in.3. Put a stiff tray under the butterfly enclosure to keep it stable when you move it around. It is a flimsy net and the bottom warps, resulting in pupae rolling around on the floor unless you put the entire thing on a hard surface.4. Load up your cardboard chrysalis stand with a few dried peas to give it some weight and mechanical hardness, otherwise the card tends to fatigue and your carefully balanced cup lid laden with chrysalids ends up falling flat onto the enclosure floor.5. Don’t pin the chrysalis cup lid to the side of the netting. Opening and closing the zip on the lid results in the entire enclosure warping or shaking and flinging your precious animals around. Use the chrysalis holder, or blue-tack the holder to the ground leaning against the net.6. Put a paper towel or tissue at the bottom of the enclosure – that meconium gets everywhere!7. If you see any traces of mould in the substrate in your cup of caterpillars while they are still in the feeding up stage, carefully remove the lid after scaring the larvae onto the bottom of the cup, and scoop out any mould with a plastic spoon. This mould will spread really quickly because of the low ventilation and high humidity of the cup, and kill the caterpillars. The caterpillar food is meant to be sterile when it arrives but the hatchlings themselves may have spores on them which can grow into a big mould problem.8. Don’t remove any chrysalides that you think are dead. They probably aren’t. Just put them on the floor of the enclosure and leave them alone. If they make it, great, if they don’t, it’s the circle of liiiife.9. Don’t bother keeping the butterflies and feeding them on nectar (a heaped teaspoon of sugar in 100 ml of water soaked into tissues on a saucer) for longer than a day or two, unless they are not healthy enough to survive in the wild and you might get a kick out of keeping them. They really prefer being outdoors and risk damaging wings if they are kept in the enclosure for a long time, and they get nectar all over themselves and it’s terrifying to watch.10. I have made this sound like a difficult, harrowing and thankless task. It is actually not hard, and is incredibly rewarding to witness a miraculous natural event with your kids, Enjoy!

Ich habe mit das Set geholt, da ich selbst einfach mal neugierig bin, wie so ein Lebenszyklus eines Schmetterlings abläuft. Kleiner Wermutstropfen: man hat die Raupen nicht mit bei, sondern muss mit einem in der Verpackung befindlichen Gutschein die Raupen in England bestellen und dafür nochmal Porto zahlen.Achtung: Für die Zahlung muß ein Paypalkonto oder eine Kreditkarte vorhanden sein!Bei der Bestellung der Raupen gibt man dann den Tag an, an dem sie verschickt(!) werden sollen. Der Versand dauert ca. 5-7 Tagen. Sind die Raupen dann da, hat man ca 7-14 Tagen, bis sie sich verpuppen und man sie mit Hilfe der kleinen Pappaufsteller in das – in der Grundpackung vorhandene – Habitat umziehen läßt. Eine Erklärung für die gesammte Zeit ist in mehreren Sprachen vorhanden. Und man erhäkt zwischendurch auch einige Mails mit Hinweisen in deutscher Sprache.Ich fand das Leben der Raupen (sogar Streitigkeiten untereinander, sowie regelmäßiges Teilhäuten) sehr spannend und habe nun seit einer guten Woche die Puppen im Habitat. Nun warte ich begierig jeden Tag drauf, das ein Schmetterling schlüpft. Damit die kleinen gleich am Anfang zu fressen haben und nicht ein paar Stunden hungern müssen (was ihnen nicht gut tut!) habe ich nun auch kleine Blumen im Habitat stehn (ausgesucht nach intensiven Recherchen im Internet was diese Raupenart für Blüten braucht).Bitte denkt dran die Schmetterlinge nicht zu lange im Habitat zu belassen sondern sie zeitig in die Natur zu entlassen.Das Habitat ist mehrfach verwendtbar, die Becher, in denen die Raupen geliefert werden und in denen sie wachsen würd ich eher nicht wieder verwenden, da in ihm die Nahrungsreste sowie Kot liegt. Raupen kann man jederzeit über die Website des Herstellers nachbeziehen.Raupen werden aber NUR während einer bestimmten Zeit verschickt, in denen weder der Transport noch die anschließende Umgebung für die Schmetterlinge zu kalt ist! Es ist daher möglich, dass der Gtuschein z.B. im Dezember nicht eingelöst werden kann. Dann einfach im April erneut versuchen. Der Support des Herstellers reagiert nur in englischer Sprache! Wer also Fragen hat, sollte daher Englisch können. Die Anfrage in Deutsch ist kein Problem nur halt die Antwort kommt in Englisch.