Cup of Caterpillars - 5 Live Painted Lady Caterpillars with Food - Refill for Butterfly Garden Kit - Chrys-A-Lid Holding Log Included - STEM Learning Activity

Last year, we bought the complete set with the habitat and my kids absolutely loved watching the caterpillars form their chrysalises and emerge as butterflies, so we ordered the caterpillars to do it again this year. We received a cup with five caterpillars, which all formed chrysalises within 5-7 days. The butterflies emerged about 5 days later. This is a largely hands off activity, as the cup includes all the food that the caterpillars require. All you really need to do is transfer the lid with the chrysalises to the habitat before the butterflies emerge and feed the butterflies if you do not release them immediately. However, as these are living creatures, it is not guaranteed that everything will go as expected. One chrysalis fell off of the lid. They will not form properly if they are not hanging, so I used a bit of glue to reattach it and it turned out fine. Another one was much smaller than the others and had a terrible time freeing itself from the chrysalis. It eventually got out but still had part of the chrysalis attached and could not spread its wings, so I used a pair of tweezers to free it, and it was able to fly away. A third one emerged with deformed wings and cannot fly, so more than two weeks later it is still hanging out in the habitat. We give it an orange slice and cotton ball soaked with sugar water every day. Overall, this is a fantastic project for kids of all ages. My 3 and 5 year old loved watching each stage of the life cycle and were fascinated to see the butterflies eat up close. I highly recommend.

I previously purchased the set up for growing the caterpillars to butterflies. I bought these the following year for a new class of students. We were able to watch four caterpillars turn into butterflies! This is such a fun experience for kids and get a basis of a lifecycle. These products are good quality, easy instructions, great value, and educational!

Awesome experience for my granddaughter! The caterpillars were pretty big when they arrived and were in their chrysalis by day 3. 9 days later all 5 butterflies emerged gorgeous and healthy. We kept them 3 more days before releasing.

Been conflicted about writing a review. I’ve bought caterpillars several times and it’s been great except lately. It’s supposed to come with 5 but the last two orders have only come with 4. The latest order had a dead one (I immediately brought them in so it wasn’t heat or suffocation) so really I only got 3. Also, the refill ones have consistently come a lot bigger than my initial order with the full kit so you don’t get to enjoy them as long. Not as big of an issue or a deal breaker but just something I’ve noticed. I’ve enjoyed raising butterflies but with the issues I’ve had lately of not receiving a full 5 I’ve been thinking of taking a break. It’s just a bit disappointing.

We did this in 2021 when I homeschooled my son and it was a lot of fun but was sad 2 died because the other caterpillars attacked them when they formed their chrysalis. I got the full kit back then and kept the cage. Ordered these caterpillars this year and all 5 became butterflies. This made my son so happy and it's always sad to have to let them go. We will keep doing this until my son no longer wants to. It's so neat watching the process of caterpillars getting bigger, form their chrysalis, and watching them emerge. I highly recommend this project, BUT if you don't have the cage, get that set. This is only the caterpillars and lid stand.

I purchased the butterfly enclosure and cup of butterflies 3 years ago and every March I order a cup of caterpillars. I always receive them in a timely manner and my caterpillars always arrive alive, there's 5 per cup. My kids really enjoy watching them grow, cocoon and re-emerge as butterflies. This is a great experience to teach kids about butterflies and I think every family should do this yearly. I only had a problem once and that's one of the caterpillars died while it was cocooned, but that was no reflection of the product itself just unfortunate. Will definitely be buying again!

Would 100% recommend. Over all great experience for myself and my daughter. I received the caterpillars super fast after ordering. Unfortunately one of the caterpillars did not make it within a few days so that left me with 4. All 4 caterpillars had went into their cocoon. 2 butterflies just came out today and I’m still waiting on the last 2. I plan to set the 2 butterflies free after 24 hours so their wings can dry and expand. Make sure when purchasing these you also buy the butterflies enclosures separate as they do not come with it. First 2 pictures are of the caterpillars after a few days of getting them ( they grow so fast) Last 2 pictures show my 2 beautiful butterflies that hatched. Just waiting on 2 more!! This was so much fun

I have ordered the Insect Lore live caterpillars for 5 years now for my classroom and have been satisfied with the outcome each time. However, I am concerned with this most recent order. I received a cup with only 4 caterpillars instead of 5 and one of them is significantly smaller than the others. I am worried it will not grow or, they will grow and develop at different rates which will result in the smaller one knocking the others off the lid once they are in their chrysalis (which happened to one of my cups previously). I will update the review with final results. For almost $20 I hope my students get a positive memorable experience.

We received 1 dead Caterpillar and the other 4 came already in chrysalis form, 3 of the chrysalis never developed and just dried. Only one butterfly emerged and had a deformed wing. Very sad

Caterpillars arrived all alive and became butterflies in a few days and stayed with us for around 3 weeks and even laid some small tiny eggs before they parted. Very recommended learning cycle for your little ones.

Caterpillars arrived all crushed and dead, the 'handle with care' labels were all covered over with a second packaging - not sure why it would be packaged this way?