Nature Gifts Live Butterfly Kit - School-Sized Educational Experience with 32 Painted Lady Caterpillars - Pop-Up Cage, and Comprehensive Rearing Supplies for Classroom Engagement, 32 Small Cups

So very excited. Received order of caterpillars today. Wasn’t expecting them for a few days. They are a good size all look quite healthy. I’ve always had great success growing them from this seller. Usually 100% survival.

Great experience. Moving the caterpillars to the smaller containers was not easy, but the kids love their caterpillars and take very good care of them.

The materials were a great size to observe the stages of the caterpillars to butterflies. Great project for spring!

I was already a bit skeptical when I made this purchase, as this is not the company I usually buy from each year. However, their delivery date was earlier and fit better with our schedule for our spring party. First, the package was delayed by almost 2 weeks, then was scheduled to arrive "later than expected" after I was given a delivery date. By the time the larva arrived, they were barely moving and looked traumatized! We couldn't put them in their provided cups because the cups were too small, so I had to run out and buy clear cups to put them in. There wasn't enough food to go around, so many of the little caterpillars died of starvation. My students each named their caterpillar and waited with anticipation for them to make its chrysalis. Unfortunately, we've had close to 15 funerals...so much so, my flower garden beside my class is now dubbed, "the caterpillar cemetery". All the kids stop talking when they pass by it because the caterpillars are "resting" in their forever beds. I am beyond disappointed. Of the remaining ones, there are deformed chrysali, which I'm sure is due to malnourished larvae. I've given up all hope of hatching even one! My kids are sad and I can't even blame them! I don't think I'll ever use this company again. $50, in teacher dollars, is a LOT! I guess you live and you learn. Back to Insect Lore for me for next year.

I ordered this as I release butterflies with my kids every year and was super concerned at the reviews. Instead of the advertised amount we received 40, not bad and not complaining since exact numbers weren't expected. The food was more than enough for all of the caterpillars and the other supplies were great but I did need to purchase larger containers. The ones that come with this order are too small and have no air holes, last I checked caterpillars need to breathe too. I did manage to successfully released 39/40 of my butterflies, one I had chosen to euthanize due to an accident that damaged it's wing and proboscis shortly after it emerged from it's chrysalis. All in all this was very much worth the money spent and my kids were very excited to release the butterflies.

I had purchased this kit as an at home project for me and my son. Ended up being a me thing. lol I ended up receiving 38 instead of 32 👀 but that’s okay I made it work.Reading the negative reviews on here you can really tell who took the time read the instructions and who didn’t.When you get the baby caterpillars you’re instructed to take the food provided and evenly distribute and make sure to use another cup the level it down. If you don’t do this as they grow the space gets limited and trying to go into chrysalis becomes near hard to impossible for them.Now after you’ve done this make sure you make a tight paper towel seal!!!! This helps when the caterpillars are forming their chrysalis otherwise if you just leave it all wilted and floppy …. Well you’re gonna have a floppy caterpillar with a soggy paper towel that absorbed moisture from the food.As for when they’re in the chrysalis for and need to be transferred to the enclosure it was simple. I didn’t use tape cause it just wouldn’t stick. Instead I had butterfly hat pins or butterfly clutch pins. You can buy a 50 pk on Amazon for $4 it made it so much easier vs having to fight with tape or paper clips which I tried first and did not go well.I’m proud to say out of all 38 I had 37 make it. ( R.I.P 38 🥺)But for my first time raising butterflies this was a beautiful and simple process. It just takes patience and love. ❤️ Thank you for the experience.🦋

Update im updating my review as this was the biggest disappointment order. We have done this for years i wanted enough for whole class. Out of "33 caterpillars" there was actually only 25 in jar. 15 out of those 25 were alive. After following directions only 2 out of original "33" turned into cristalis. Huge dud will NOT be ordering from this company again. Ive never had this many arrive dead or die this quickly.Original post:I ordered the 33 pack of caterpillars for my classroom. If actually wanting one for each kiddo I suggest ordering more. Out of my order only 25 caterpillars were actually in Jar. I did put each caterpillar into separate cups but my guess is only 15/25 are actually alive. We will see how it goes never the less the kiddos in class are very excited

We have been purchasing caterpillars and raising them successfully to butterflies for years. This year we had difficulty with this order. The paper towel squares included were meant to go between the lid and the container for each caterpillar, but the lids would not fit with the towel in place. Therefore we had to forego the towel, and the caterpillars struggled to attach to the lids provided. In previous years, with a different vendor, no towel was ever included or necessary, but these lids must be different. Teachers were frustrated. They repeatedly had to glue cocoons onto the lids then they just hoped for the best. Also several of our caterpillars died, most of them on the floor of their container half formed into their cocoons. We purchased two classroom refill sets (received 70+ caterpillars) but lost nearly 1/3 of them prior to hatching as butterflies. I would recommend finding a much thinner fabric to place between the container and the lid, or use a non-toxic glue to attach a reduced size piece of paper towel inside the lid next time.