Insect Lore Live Butterfly Garden Review

This is our second year of buying the Insect Lore Butterfly Garden.  This is an amazing product and one that my kids look forward to every year.  The first time you purchase a kit, it's about $30 but you get the butterfly treehouse, an informational DVD, a poster, and of course, the butterfly larvae.   It's important to note that the larvae won't be shipped if the weather is too cold or too hot for them to survive in transit.  It's best to get them in the Spring. 

When they arrive, the caterpillars are self-contained with their food supply and they are very tiny - about a 1/4 inch in length.  They double in size each day as they eat their prepared food, and in about 10 days, you will see them spin their chrysalids on the lid of their container.  It's an awesome way to teach your kids about metamorphasis! 

My kids watch their growth everyday and go crazy over the number of chrysalids hanging from the lid.  In about another 10 days, the chrysalids will hatch and you will see the beautiful painted lady butterflies emerge.  It's really something to witness.  You can feed them a sugar water concoction the instructions provide, or some orange slices, which is what we do.  You can keep them in the butterfly cage for weeks until you are ready to release them into the sky!

Insect Lore guarantees that at least 3 of the 5 larvae will become butterflies, so there's really no risk!  This last time, all 5 of our butterflies hatched and were healthy at their release!  My kids love to hold them in their hands just before they fly off. 

Such a great experience and one not to me missed if you have children!