Insect Lore Live Butterfly Garden
by Insect Lore
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List Price: Our Price: $9.59 You Save: $15.40 (62%) Availability: Usually ships in 3-4 business days Category: Toy See more product details |
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Toys and Games Reviews of Insect Lore Live Butterfly Garden
Customer Review: Really incredible experience
Summary: 5 Stars
I work at a toy store, and we ordered the Butterfly Garden as an in-store sample for the product. The box arrived in the mail one day with a sticker on it that said "Live Butterflies, Open Immediately!" Needless to say this gave us all a scare, but after a quick call to the customer service people we realized it was really just our caterpillars! They came in enviromentally friendly packaging, complete with all necessary instructions, which were very clear and fun to follow.
Many people have said in their reviews that their caterpillars died. At first I was worried that all of ours were dead! None of them moved for a while, then one started crawling around, and then another. After about a day they all woke up and began eating! I was convinced at least one of them would be dead, but they were all alive! If yours did arrive dead, however, the company are very easy to talk to and guarantee at least three live caterpillars, so you can easily receive a replacement.
It was amazing to watch the little guys grow from tiny worms into big caterpillars. The process was really exciting, and I loved showing all the kids who came in to the store our funny "bugs!" Everyone was so interested to see their progress.
Then, after about five days or a week, I got to see them change into chrysalids! It was one of the most incredible things I have ever seen in my life.
Our butterflies are still in their crysalises, but I can't wait to see them come out! The metamorphosis has been really awesome to watch! I recommend this product to everyone, of all ages. It makes a fantastic gift, a fun, temporary pet, and is really educational and exciting!
Customer Review: Great educational item....BUT......
Summary: 4 Stars
We ordered this for my daughter's 4th birthday and it was a fantastic gift! The environment is high quality (perhaps a bit small...I'd go for the larger one next time to give the butterflies more space to soar) and easy to clean.
All of our butterflies lived and actually laid eggs. We placed a lantana plant inside the cage for them to eat on and lay eggs on. It was a beautiful thing to witness.
NOTE: the baby caterpillars that came from the eggs our butterflies laid, if you want to do this all again, DO NOT LIKE TO EAT lantana and they died. I'll be doing thistle, hollyhock or malva next time once they hit the big caterpillar stage. Last night I ordered my new 5 caterpillares, nutrient, manual, and new supplies *for $7*. I ordered this from www.carolina.com which had the least expensive pricing around. INSECT LORE will rape you on this ($15!!!!! for the same thing, actually just the cup, nutrient and caterpillars nothing else) after the first coupon is used (if you do this again). I HIGHLY rec. using carolina.com to order supplies after your first go-round. Insect lore's CEO communicated with me personally and she was rude, unhelpful and uncooperative when I emailed the company in regard to the uncompetitive high pricing for refills (if you will). I was surprised by her curt response and non-helpful attitude.
So, in sumnation, go ahead and buy the kit from them but if you decide to do the butterflies again after you release the first ones, buy them from carolina.com!
:)
Customer Review: Butterfly Garden
Summary: 5 Stars
My sister gave this to my 8 year old daughter for her birthday. I also have a 4 year old daughter. This is one of the best gifts my children have ever received! From the start, both of my children were enthralled with the metamorposis from caterpillar to butterfly. The bonus is that there is very little that is required of parents except to make sure the instructions are followed. The caterpillars come in a plastic container that has all the food they require to grow and change. Even though one of the chrysalides fell off the paper disc under the lid, it still was able to continue metamorphosis at the bottom of the butterfly observatory. We just released our three beautiful painted lady butterflies yesterday after three weeks of wonder and excitement. Luckily my daughter's birthday is in July so we could release our butterflies when the weather is warm and the flowers are in full bloom. I recommend that you keep your butterflies safe in their observation chamber for at least two days. Two butterflies emerged before the third one did and I was afraid they weren't eating the food I provided (sugar water). Not wanting the first two to starve, I had my daughters release all of them less than a day after the third butterfly emerged. That third butterfly didn't seem ready to fly off yet and stayed in the garden on a post unmoving for a long while. I watched it to make sure it was unharmed and breathed a sigh of relief when it finally flew off. I couldn't have asked for a more fun and educational gift!Customer Review: No Larvae yet - NO online ordering, phone wait 30+ minutes
Summary: 1 Stars
I am anicipating my kids enjoying this someday when they get the needed larvae. You CANNOT order the larvae online despite them saying you can. Try their [...]and you will see (maybe it will be fixed when you check which would be great but for the last month, never). The site just tells you to call because they are having problems (for 30 days - that is not technical difficulties that is NOT having web access). I kept waiting and checking each day presuming they would fix it - NO. Then I called the number (NOT a toll free number) and was told the wait would be in excess of 30 minutes. So I guess I will mail it eventually - come on company, this is 2009 so at least your phones should work.
One star because when you buy something requiring the subsequent order then you 100% should expect the ordering system to work. Based on other reviews, the thing itself may be very nice once we manage to get it.
Update Sept 17, 2009: I had set this aside and forgot about it after checking for many days in a row to see if I could enter the coupon online. Finally it looks like the web site is functioning so I entered address, coupon, number, billing info, credit card number, etc. then on screen 3 when the order is being finalized it says "due to technical difficulties your coupon cannot be accepted". They stay one star. I still cannot call since they do not open until noon Eastern time. I will try later today and see if it is still a 30 minute plus wait on a toll number (no 800 number!).
Customer Review: Perfect for kids and adults!
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this from amazon when it was on sale over the Christmas holiday. We waited until it warmed up to order our caterpillars. The kit was shipped quickly to us, as were the caterpillars once we ordered them. They were well packaged and well marked. Our mail carrier was quite excited to deliver them! They arrive in their own little self-contained habiat and are tiny! We had a lot of fun watching them double in size nearly every day! After about 10 days they began to transform into chrysalis'. We checked them often enough that we go to see quite a bit of change in between each stage. Once they were all snug in their chrysalis' we carefully transferred them into the net. I have to admit it was a bit difficult. The sheet of paper they hang from was quite delicate and was hard to get out of the lid due to the silk that the caterpillars had left everywhere. On top of that the chrysalis' are only hung on to the paper by a little thread. They are not quite a delicate as they look but I was worried they would fall. After about 10 days hanging they began to hatch and we had beautiful painted lady butterflies! We just went and released them today.
I am very pleased with this item. Everything arrived as promised and all 5 caterpillars survived with no issues. If you are willing to wait this kit did go on sale for about $9 w/free shipping around Christmas. We are very pleased and will probably re-order caterpillars in a few weeks.