Insect Lore Live Butterfly Garden

by Insect Lore

Product Features

• See butterfly metamorphosis up close.Reusable, collapsible habitat.
• Includes feeder.Complete instructions included.
• Includes mail-in voucher for five butterfly larvae and special food. ($5.00 fee for processing)
• Witness one of nature's most spectacular transformations up close.
• Just mail in the included coupon for larvae and food.

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 13 x 13 x 3 inches ; 10.4 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00000ISC5
• Item model number: 1010
• Our recommended age: 4 - 14 years
• Manufacturer recommended age: 5 years and up
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #96 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games)
  • #1 in Toys & Games > Learning & Education > Science > Biology
  • #1 in Toys & Games > Learning & Education > Habitats
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (431 customer reviews)

Product Description

Editorial Review

Experience nature up close with the Live Butterfly Garden from Insect Lore. This enthralling educational kit gives kids the opportunity to observe butterflies through every stage of their lifecycle. Children ages four and up can observe five real caterpillars eat and grow to form their chrysalis and then emerge as Painted Lady butterflies. Children will love feeding the butterflies in their included observation habitat and then releasing them into the wild.

Live Butterfly Garden At a Glance: Age: 4 years and up Requirements: Larvae, which are available with the included mail-in coupon ($5 shipping and handling required; ships to all U.S. states except Hawaii). Warranty: Insect Lore guarantees that at least 3 of the 5 butterfly larvae sent through the mail will metamorphose into adult butterflies.

Watch larvae turn into butterflies! View larger.

12-inch habitat, guide, dropper, and coupon. View larger.

Live Caterpillars Mailed Directly to You
The Butterfly Garden comes with a coupon to send away for five caterpillars. The caterpillars are hatched from eggs in a butterfly nursery and mailed to your home in a special clear container, complete with caterpillar food.

Live caterpillars and food

Keeping the caterpillars out of direct sunlight, children can watch them eat, grow, and after seven to ten days, form their chrysalides and begin their transformation into butterflies. The transformation from caterpillar to butterfly normally takes two to three weeks: seven to ten days in caterpillar stage, and seven to ten days in chrysalis stage. Insect Lore guarantees that at least three of the five caterpillars you receive will grow into adult butterflies.

Observe the Metamorphosis Up Close
The Butterfly Garden comes with a pop-up butterfly observation habitat, which is a cylindrical mesh container measuring 12 inches tall. Once the caterpillars become chrysalides, they can be transferred to the habitat, where they will complete their transformation into adult Painted Lady butterflies. Children will be excited to keep a close eye on the changing chrysalides and watch this seemingly magical metamorphosis.

Your Very Own Butterflies
Once the butterflies emerge, children can have lots of fun feeding them and watching them eat. The kit comes with a dropper for squeezing sugar water into the habitat for the butterflies to drink. It is recommended that flowers be placed in the habitat for the butterflies to rest on while they enjoy their meals. Kids will delight in observing the butterflies unfurl their proboscises to suck up the sugar water.

If you receive your butterflies during warmer weather, when temperatures are above 55 degrees, you can experience the excitement of releasing the butterflies into the wild. Caterpillars are available for delivery year-round, so if yours arrive in a colder month, you can keep your fully-grown butterflies in the mesh habitat for their lifespan, which is about two to four weeks.

Additional mail-in certificates are available for order, so once you've released your butterflies, you can reuse the Butterfly Garden and experience the magic of metamorphosis again and again.

What's in the Box
Mesh butterfly habitat, feeding dropper, activity guide, complete instructions, and mail-in coupon for five caterpillars, and food.

Product Description

Witness one of nature's most spectacular transformations up close with this reusable, collapsible habitat. Fine, transparent mesh lets you see butterfly metamorphosis up close. Product includes easy-to-use feeder and complete instructions for habitat. Butterfly larvae with food shipped directly to your home. The habitat collapses for storage when not in use. You can adopt and raise a handful of caterpillars, watch them transform into painted lady butterflies, then lift the garden cover to release your beautiful specimens into the wild. This exciting habitat makes a fabulous introduction to the miracles of nature. The larvae and food available round the year.

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

458 of 460 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So fun I Bought My Own!, November 13, 2000

By 

John - See all my reviews

= Durability:3.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Insect Lore Live Butterfly Garden (Toy)

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.

390 of 396 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun, educational, and really cool, too!, October 23, 1999

By A Customer

= Durability:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Insect Lore Live Butterfly Garden (Toy)

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!

234 of 236 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Even the Big Guy likes it, December 2, 1999

By A Customer

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Insect Lore Live Butterfly Garden (Toy)

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.