You really can't match the learning experience of raising your own butterflies with a live butterfly kit. It gives kids and adults an opportunity for an up-close and personal look at butterfly metamorphosis and provides a whole new appreciation for insects and nature in general. If you buy one at the right time of year, you can even make it a special event when you release your butterflies into the wild.
Below are the options for buying kits with links to purchase them from Insect Lore (on Amazon) or from Nature Gift Store.
KITS WITH VOUCHERS
Live Butterfly Kit with Voucher for 5 caterpillars (Insect Lore not pre-paid, Nature Gift Store IS pre-paid)
(Insect Lore's comes with a 2-foot high cage
versus 1-foot in their kits with 5 caterpillars. Requires an additional $5-$7.95 fee to ship caterpillars.)
(Nature Gift Store's comes with a choice of an 18" pop-up cage or a 3' hanging cage. No extra charge to ship caterpillars.)
Insect Lore | Nature Gift Store
Live Butterfly Kit with Voucher (pre-paid) for 10 caterpillars
Nature Gift Store
KITS WITH LIVE CATERPILLARS
Live Butterfly Kit shipped with 5 caterpillars
Insect Lore | Nature Gift Store
Live Butterfly Kit shipped with 10 caterpillars
Insect Lore | Nature Gift Store
CLASSROOM BUTTERFLY KITS
Both companies offer kits for the classroom. Insect Lore's comes with 33 live caterpillars. Nature Gift Store offers 30 caterpillars shipped now or later.
Insect Lore | Nature Gift Store
CATERPILLARS ONLY
Both companies offer purchases of just the caterpillars (shipped upon order). You can buy 5, 10 or 30-33.
Nature Gift Store Caterpillars
Insect Lore - 5 | 10 | 33
Nature Gift Store sells three different cage sizes if you would like additional butterfly cages. They come in very handy!
If you don't want a ton of tiny caterpillars to take care of after your butterflies emerge, make sure you release the butterflies within a week of hatching. After that, the adults will start mating and laying eggs in the cage. If this happens, you can place the eggs outdoors on plant life (preferable one that Painted Ladies eat (click here for butterfly plant list). If you keep them even longer, you will end up with a lot of baby caterpillars. If you decide you want to raise these caterpillars, you will need to provide food. Painted Lady caterpillars love to eat thistle, hollyhock, fiddleneck, and malva. Be sure the leaves are pesticide-free and place them near your caterpillars in your habitat. Alternately, you can purchase Painted Lady Caterpillar Food on Amazon or from Nature Gift Store.
ACCESSORIES
Here are some accessories to make your butterfly rearing experience even richer!