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You may remember this Insect Lore Butterfly Garden from when you were a kid. Perhaps you had one in your home or classroom. Since 1969, they have been sending the complete caterpillar to butterfly kits for kids to witness butterflies grow. It is about a 3 week process and we have been using one in our home. My son is in the third grade now and in Kindergarten, he had one in his classroom so he is a bit familiar with this process.
Our kit arrived and we opened to see the instructions. Once it arrives you want to carefully place the cup of live caterpillars somewhere safe where hands won’t touch or shake it. In about a week to 10 days those tiny caterpillars will spin silk and grow a lot larger and hang from the sticky underneath of the lid. Once they are hanging and hardened into chrysalides we moved on to the next step.
We very careful to moved the chrysalides into the mesh garden that opens us easily. The great thing about the garden is that when it is not in use, it flattens for easy storage. Then we waited and watched for about another 7-10 days until butterflies emerged.
It can be a rather quick process. You can literally watch the painted Lady Butterflies emerge and in about 1-2 hours they are ready to be released outside.
Experiencing the live butterfly garden is science at its best. I prepared my son again for the fact that we cannot keep them but rather send them out together to find better food. The hot weather is the best conditions so hurry and experience the metamorphosis before summer is gone for good. Visit Insect Lore –> Website _ Facebook _ Twitter
Oh my goodness this is such a great idea! I would’ve loved this as a little girl. Well done.
Wow! Butterfly gardens have surely changed since we did them. Love this kit!