Live Butterfly Garden

We mailed in the coupon to receive the caterpillars in mid July, and all 10 survived the hot summer mailbox. Within a week they turned into chrysalids, and after about another week the butterflies just popped out! We got one of them coming out on video camera - they come out quick! One of them couldn't come out quite right, but even the 3 on the floor on a paper towel came out just fine.

They weren't too crazy about sugar water, so I did some research and thought maybe the concentration wasn't high enough. So I used a tablespoon of sugar to 1/2 cup of water, and I see them drink from that a bit more. I also cut up oranges, apples, nectarines, and bananas.

I put the pavillion indoors in a sunny location as they fly better when it's above 85 degrees. We even put a light reflecter nearby with an incadescent bulb to keep them warm. It's cool to see them baske.

I still felt like they weren't eating very much, so I went to a local greenhouse and got a smallest annual plant they had that butterflies love (lantana), and within minutes of putting it inside, the butterflies were all over it. And they started laying eggs!! And they're only 5 days old!! Thankfully I've researched what painted lady caterpillars eat (different species eat different leaves) and been collecting plants outdoors. I just hope if the eggs hatch they won't come out of the mesh holes.

My daughter received this from her aunt for her 6th birthday in December. We mailed the enclosed pre-paid card to redeem the larvae in late February. I'm not sure where this was purchased, but there were no hidden, additional costs for us, although my sister paid around $25 for the kit. It took about 2 weeks to receive the larvae, which was packed carefully and properly labeled so the Post Office didn't damage it. It contained 5 larvae and we had 100% success. Facinating to watch as they grow daily. At the point that you remove the crysalids from the plastic cup, it is filled with leftover food, poop, and webs, so you will need someone who is not squeamish. When they were in the butterfly stage, I tried sugar-water on flowers but they didn't seem to eat. Orange slices left mold on the bottom of the cage. Dipping crumpled paper in sugar-water seemed to work best. The butterflies will live about 2 weeks, and we kept them indoors since it was only April and too cold to release them. They did open their wings and become active when the sun came through our window. We released them one warm day after they had been butterflies for two weeks, rather than have them die before our eyes indoors. I would recommend you attempt this 2-month process in warm weather.

This was a gift for my niece that she requested. I had given her a similar product (from the same company) earlier and she really liked it. So she wanted another one for her birthday. I was very pleased with the quick delivery and it arrived in fine shape.

I was really disappointed to find that I had to send off to get the catipellers after the package came. Then they never came. Pretty lame! I do like the idea, lets just hope someone else copies the concept and makes it better with better customer service.

These are great, both my 2YO and 6YO have loved it!
Be aware though, you have to send away for the butterflies/food. It's not a big deal - you fill out the enclosed card and send in $3. However, if you're giving this as a gift you may want to open the box & send away for the butterflies first. It's a little disapointing for the kids to find just the empty bug house inside.