Experience nature up close with the Live Butterfly Pavilion from Insect Lore. This enthralling educational kit gives kids the opportunity to observe butterflies through every stage of their lifecycle. Children ages four and up can observe ten real caterpillars eat and grow to form their chrysalis, then emerge as Painted Lady butterflies. Children will love feeding the butterflies in their included observation habitat and then releasing them into the wild.

 

Live Butterfly Pavilion At a Glance: Age: 4 years and up Requirements:Larvae, which are available with the included mail-in coupon ($5 shipping and handling required; ships to all U.S. states except Hawaii). Warranty: Insect Lore guarantees that at least 6 of the 10 butterfly larvae sent through the mail will metamorphose into adult butterflies.

Watch larvae turn into butterflies! View larger.

2-foot habitat, guide, dropper, and coupon. View larger.

Live Caterpillars Mailed Directly to You
The Butterfly Pavilion comes with a coupon to send away for ten caterpillars. The caterpillars are hatched from eggs in a butterfly nursery and mailed to your home in a special clear container, complete with caterpillar food.

 

Live caterpillars and food

Keeping the caterpillars out of direct sunlight, children can watch them eat, grow, and after seven to ten days, form their chrysalides and begin their transformation into butterflies. The transformation from caterpillar to butterfly normally takes two to three weeks: seven to ten days in caterpillar stage, and seven to ten days in chrysalis stage. Insect Lore guarantees that at least six of the ten caterpillars you receive will grow into adult butterflies.

Observe the Metamorphosis Up Close
The Butterfly Pavilion comes with a pop-up butterfly observation habitat, which is a cylindrical mesh container measuring 2 feet tall. Once the caterpillars become chrysalides, they can be transferred to the habitat, where they will complete their transformation into adult Painted Lady butterflies. Children will be excited to keep a close eye on the changing chrysalides and watch this seemingly magical metamorphosis.

Your Very Own Butterflies
Once the butterflies emerge, children can have lots of fun feeding them and watching them eat. The kit comes with a dropper for squeezing sugar water into the habitat for the butterflies to drink. It is recommended that flowers be placed in the habitat for the butterflies to rest on while they enjoy their meals. Kids will delight in observing the butterflies unfurl their proboscises to suck up the sugar water.

If you receive your butterflies during warmer weather, when temperatures are above 55 degrees, you can experience the excitement of releasing the butterflies into the wild. Caterpillars are available for delivery year-round, so if yours arrive in a colder month, you can keep your fully-grown butterflies in the mesh habitat for their lifespan, which is about two to four weeks.

Additional mail-in certificates are available for order, so once you've released your butterflies, you can reuse the Butterfly Pavilion and experience the magic of metamorphosis again and again.

What's in the Box
Mesh butterfly habitat, feeding dropper, activity guide, complete instructions, and mail-in coupon for ten caterpillars and food