Butterfly Garden® Early Learning Edition with Live Caterpillars

Give little ones a deeper understanding of the butterfly life cycle. This tent shaped habitat with tuck-away learning panel depicts the stages of metamorphosis, along with age appropriate definitions. Raise, release, repeat, it's perfect for the home, homeschool, or classroom. 

Ages 4+

Due to extreme temperatures, expedited shipping is recommended for live caterpillar orders. 

 

  • One cup of 5 baby caterpillars
  • Tent shaped habitat with Ultra-Clear front-facing viewing panel and Tuck-Away Learning Panel.
  • Flower-shaped butterfly nectar feeder
  • Feeding dropper
  • Comprehensive Instruction Guide
  • 12 page STEM journal for Budding Entomologists
  • Chrys-A-Lid™ Holding Log
  • 2 sugar packets
  • Each Cup of Caterpillars is lovingly packed on the day of your shipment. 
  • Your 3-week project starts the minute your caterpillars arrive. 
  • Step-by-Step Instructions are included in each package. 
  • Be weather aware -- it's best to order when temperatures are between 50-90 degrees.
  • We cannot ship live insects to Mexico, Canada, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, APO, FPO or DPO addresses.
  • Insect Lore is the creator of caterpillar to butterfly kits. 
  • Our caterpillars have been raised on our family-owned, California butterfly nursery for over 55 years. 
  • Our kits are STEM Authenticated, Mesh Accredited, and Award-Winning
  • Our habitats are safety tested. 
  • Your order is protected by the Insect Lore GuaranteeInsect Lore, the Original Butterflies-by-Mail Company®, guarantees that at least 3 out of 5 caterpillars will become butterflies. You can learn more about the Insect Lore Guarantee here.
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In The Wild

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  • 5 stars: 265 (90%)
  • 4 stars: 17 (6%)
  • 3 stars: 8 (3%)
  • 2 stars: 1 (0%)
  • 1 star: 5 (2%)
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Robin Newman

My 4 year old loved watching the caterpillars turn into butterflies. The saddest part was releasing them and she wanted to raise more butterflies. The kit was easy to follow, and any questions we had were answered on the FAQs page.

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Savannah Genaille

The whole family really enjoyed the experience!

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Tonya Rodgers

I did this activity in my childcare home, and it was great! We received five live caterpillars and hatched five butterflies. The kit provided everything we needed and was so easy to use. I stored everything and will only have to order caterpillars next year! Thank you for a great product!

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Stephanie Bennett-Allen

I purchased this as an Easter basket gift for my 5 year old daughter who had recently become interested in butterflies. All 5 caterpillars arrived to our house quickly and in great shape. As expected by their guarantee, 4 successfully transformed into butterflies. It was a fun learning experience for the entire family!

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Jordan Dodge

Absolutely amazing learning experience for my children. It was so much fun watching them grow into beautiful butterflies. They were healthy and strong. I wish we had more time with them before ants invaded our habitat:( I will be doing this every year for the family. Loved every moment.

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Amanda Ducrepont

We love these! My kids the butterflies are fun to watch.

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Victoria R.
My grandson had a wonderful

My grandson had a wonderful experience with his butterfly garden. I bought 2 containers of caterpillars and was concerned when they arrived that they weren’t alive but after a few days they started moving. Only one did not make it. He uses the enclosure for other bug now. He really learned a lot and I am happy we ordered.

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Samantha S.
Great set up! My two

Great set up! My two boys loved it and all of our butterflies made it to be released! Such a great experience for the kids.

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Chelsea G.
This is our 2nd year

This is our 2nd year doing the butterflies & it has been truly incredible!! My kids LOVE it!!!

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Jessica C.
This was a huge hit

This was a huge hit with my boys. We all loved watching the different stages. My youngest got really attached to the butterflies and got emotional when we released them, but a couple of them hung around on our clothes for a good 20-30 minutes. I think it was a really rewarding and educational experience for all of us. I have recommended this to everyone I know with kids. I will most likely do it again next year. No complaints at all.

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Jessica C.
This was a huge hit

This was a huge hit with my boys. We all loved watching the different stages. My youngest got really attached to the butterflies and got emotional when we released them, but a couple of them hung around on our clothes for a good 20-30 minutes. I think it was a really rewarding and educational experience for all of us. I have recommended this to everyone I know with kids. I will most likely do it again next year. No complaints at all.

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Danna A.
We loved our Butterfly Garden experience!!!

This was a great way to end our school year!
It was easy and the kids loved watching our caterpillars grow and transform into beautiful butterflies. Though we wanted to keep them watching them fly was such a sweet and beautiful moment as well.

Thank you so much for providing great quality and a sweet experience for our family to see God’s beautiful creation transform before our eyes!

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Danna A.
We loved our Butterfly Garden experience!!!

This was a great way to end our school year!
It was easy and the kids loved watching our caterpillars grow and transform into beautiful butterflies. Though we wanted to keep them watching them fly was such a sweet and beautiful moment as well.

Thank you so much for providing great quality and a sweet experience for our family to see God’s beautiful creation transform before our eyes!

A
Alicia T.
We loved watching our caterpillars

We loved watching our caterpillars grow and change to the chrysalis stage, and then into butterflies this year! My kids loved the clear frontal view of the habitat instead of a top (bird's eye) view of the habitat we used last year. We got to see them emerge from their chrysalises, and it was such a cool and fun thing for kids! Release day was so special, as we all got to hold a butterfly friend before they flew away. It is always a great spring activity for our family!

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Kim B.
This was SO fun to

This was SO fun to do with my 4 year old! She loved every minute. Highly recommend

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Melanie G.
Beautiful Experience

I ordered 10 caterpillars and all of them became butterflies. It was a beautiful experience to watch them grow and eventually get released. I will absolutely order them again.

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Brooke J.
Enriching hands-on learning

The butterfly garden was an incredible, unique experience for my family. My 4 year old loved observing the transformation and learning about the butterfly life cycle! We purchased an extra container of caterpillars, so a total of ten; nine survived!

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Brandy E.
Great home project with the

Great home project with the kids!!