Insect Lore Butterfly Pavilion

Watch them grow then let them go! See one of Nature's greatest miracles right before your eyes with our Oppenheim Best Toy Award-winning butterfly raising kit, Insect Lore.

Raise 3 to 5 Painted Lady butterflies while learning all about metamorphosis. See the caterpillars' transition as they mature, change into chrysalides, and finally emerge as Painted Lady butterflies! The butterflies' development takes approximately three weeks, and they're absolutely safe to release into the environment.

Includes colorful pop-up habitat suitable for hanging or free-standing on a countertop, one cup containing 3 to 5 butterfly larvae with special food, feeding kit and complete instructions.



Notice! This kit ships with live insects! The kit with a mail-in coupon for the live critters is available elsewhere in the Insect Lore store. If seasonal temperatures are extremely hot or cold, expect a short delay in delivery to ensure the health and happiness of your live critters during transit.

Three butterflies are guaranteed to be perfect specimens. Please allow approximately 3 weeks for your larvae to develop. Available only in the Continental U.S. and Alaska.

Ages 4 & up.

Remember! This kit will be shipped with LIVE caterpillars!

About Insect Lore

About Insect Lore

Insect Lore was founded in California's San Joaquin Valley by Carlos White, an entomologist. He had an idea to create a kit through which people of all ages could witness the metamorphosis of a real, live butterfly. It seemed like a great idea - but the key to its success would be to create a recipe for caterpillar food. This would enable the caterpillars to eat and get enough nutrition to become healthy adult butterflies. How hard could that be?

As the next three long years of trial and error proved, quite hard indeed. Mr. White finally came up with a successful diet for the Painted Lady butterfly caterpillars in 1969. It was then that The Butterfly Garden was born. The concept was simple: butterfly lovers would go into a store and purchase The Butterfly Garden which included a certificate that could be mailed to our "butterfly nursery" in order to receive live caterpillars.

The caterpillars would be shipped to the customer in a special jar that included Mr. White's unique caterpillar food. In time, the caterpillars would eat the food, change into chrysalides, and finally emerge as adult butterflies in The Butterfly Garden hatching box. After a few days of observation, the butterflies would be set free - delighting both the customer and the butterflies.

Insect Lore

Insect Lore

Watch them grow then let them go! See one of Nature's greatest miracles right before your eyes with our Oppenheim Best Toy Award-winning butterfly raising kit, Insect Lore.

Raise 3 to 5 Painted Lady butterflies while learning all about metamorphosis. See the caterpillars' transition as they mature, change into chrysalides, and finally emerge as Painted Lady butterflies! The butterflies' development takes approximately three weeks, and they're absolutely safe to release into the environment.

Includes colorful pop-up habitat suitable for hanging or free-standing on a countertop, one cup containing 3 to 5 butterfly larvae with special food, feeding kit and complete instructions.

Notice! This kit ships with live insects! The kit with a mail-in coupon for the live critters is available elsewhere in the Insect Lore store. If seasonal temperatures are extremely hot or cold, expect a short delay in delivery to ensure the health and happiness of your live critters during transit.



Three butterflies are guaranteed to be perfect specimens. Please allow approximately 3 weeks for your larvae to develop. Available only in the Continental U.S. and Alaska.

Ages 4 & up.
Remember! This kit will be shipped with LIVE caterpillars!

About Insect Lore