Live Cup of 5 Painted Lady Caterpillars to Grow Butterflies Kit - Ready to Ship Now

Caterpillars, those small and seemingly insignificant creatures, have an enchanting world hidden beneath their tiny, wriggling bodies. My recent experience observing caterpillars has left me in awe of nature's extraordinary transformations. **Pros**: 1. **Metamorphosis**: The life cycle of a caterpillar, culminating in its transformation into a butterfly or moth, is nothing short of miraculous. Watching this metamorphosis unfold is a captivating journey that brings a sense of wonder to both children and adults. 2. **Biodiversity**: The diversity among caterpillar species is astonishing. From striking colors to intricate patterns, caterpillars come in a wide range of shapes and sizes, making them a joy to discover in nature. 3. **Educational**: Observing caterpillars is an excellent way to introduce kids to the concepts of life cycles, biology, and ecology. It provides an opportunity for hands-on learning and instills an appreciation for the natural world. **Cons**: 1. **Short Lifespan**: Caterpillars have relatively short lifespans in their larval stage. This might be disappointing for those who become attached to their little companions, but it's an integral part of their life cycle. In conclusion, caterpillars are nature's enchanting storytellers, weaving tales of transformation and resilience. These humble creatures have the power to instill awe, curiosity, and respect for the natural world. My experience with caterpillars has been nothing short of magical, and I encourage everyone to take a moment to observe these remarkable beings in their journey of life.

It was my 2d time getting it. It's really interesting to watch them grow and turn into butterflies. My daughter loved it. They are very pretty. Let them out in a summer in a yard and in a green house in a winter.

Great learning material! It's fun to watch the whole process from a tiny caterpillar to beautiful butterflies. Everything is provided, well written instructions (even for kids to understand and follow). We had an amazing educational experience. Thank you.

Absolutely beautiful Worked well. Was supposed to come with five it had an one more in it so I had six and it survived the trip so now I have one extra butterfly Have had success in past years had them go through the full cycle, breeding and laying eggs!!😃 Sadly last year I didn't know what plant the baby caterpillars needed so they didn't develop from little blue eggs but this year I have all the right plants so hopefully we'll see a second generation 🦋

I forgot to write a review, but as I'm buying caterpillars again soon I thought I should, this has disturbed me for a while. I bought these in 2020, and I bought 2 cups of 5 caterpillars. When they arrived, there were only 8 caterpillars in the cups, and one was smaller than the rest and sickly. The sickly one died as small, under-developed caterpillar long after the others pupated and the butterflies died after a few weeks. So, that had me down to 7/10 caterpillars that were promised. The cups they come in are so small they don't have a lot of room when they get big, and the ones that turned into chrysalids first in these cups were cannibalized by the ones that were still hungry caterpillars even though there was plenty of food left; the 5 caterpillars need to be shipped in 2 cups rather than 1 cup. 2 more caterpillars were completely killed/cannibalized in their chrysalids (1 in each cup) and 2 more were munched on to the point that one came out of the cocoon as a mutated butterfly the size of a dime, and the other's abdomen was short, it's wings were unable to unfold, and it died a few days after hatching despite my best efforts. So, the end result after paying for 10 was 3 butterflies that were normal. My intention was to breed the butterflies, so I was VERY lucky that there was a female amongst them. I ended up raising about 700 butterflies last year from the original 3 butterflies that survived this disaster, and I made sure to use bigger containers for the food (I bought powdered diet that you can rehydrate from another company, very easy to use) and only put one or two caterpillars per cup and separated them if one was too much bigger than the other. I did have success, but about 30-50% of every generation of butterflies that survived being a caterpillar and chrysalid hatched out as horribly deformed butterflies that were good for nothing but tossing to fence lizards in my backyard as food. Even the ones that were kept alone with lots of food in a big cup came out deformed, so I know it is not lack of space. The amount of deformed, dime-sized butterflies I got from these was disheartening, and I have never had this problem with other butterfly companies nor when raising and breeding wild caught butterflies; I've done this many times and know what I am doing. This company's painted lady breeding stock must be tainted with a disease or parasite for the mutant vs healthy ratio of adult butterflies to be so high (nevermind the noticeably higher caterpillar and chrysalid mortality rate). Looking back, I shouldn't have released any of the adults I bred because it could have introduced a disease or genetic problem into my local population, but with the pandemic I was just trying to do something to be happy about. Don't buy from this company, and don't breed their caterpillars like I did, I regret introducing these sickly mutants into the wild. I don't get anything out of this review, but I wanted to warn others who might want a bunch of butterflies for their kids or who want to start a breeding project - don't.