This practical experience also fills them with a sense of accomplishment as they get a chance to raise pretty painted ladies from small caterpillars. Taking care of their caterpillars and providing them everything they need to transform also teaches kids about responsibility. Step-by-step Instructions and Helpful Accessories

Most butterflies prefer to feed on nectar, but others will feed on the juices of rotting fruit or animal dung. Painted Lady butterflies can cover a lot of ground - up to 100 miles per day during their migration. A caterpillar's first meal is often its own eggshell. The outer shell of the egg is rich in protein and gives them a nutritious boost. If you don’t want to grow butterflies but have lots in your area, why not encourage the kids to identify and record what they see in a garden butterfly survey with Butterfly Conservation? Attract Butterflies to Your Garden

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A rewarding classroom exercise, even for teachers with no experience with live critters. Complete kit. What happens once you receive your kit? Once you have your kit and are ready to start , return the voucher or register online and the caterpillars will be sent to you by 1st class post. Remember it will take 3-5 weeks for caterpillars to change into butterflies. Caring for your caterpillars – Once your caterpillars arrive, simply watch them eat, spin silk and grow to many times their original size. The caterpillars don’t need anything other than the food supplied in the cup and the small holes in the lid of the cup will provide plenty of air. They can stay as caterpillars for up to 2 weeks, but normally 7 days depending on temperature – 24c/76f is ideal.

Get LIVE caterpillars NOW if you are ready for them OR get a FREE certificate to mail in for caterpillars later. A butterfly cannot fly or eat immediately after emergence. It needs time to prepare itself for life as a butterfly. The School Kit Caterpillar Refill includes 33 caterpillars and all of the nutritious food they need to develop into beautiful Painted Lady Butterflies. 33 small vials are also provided so each child can carefully house and observe his or her very own caterpillar.The butterfly refill kit comes with detailed instructions to guide you. Growing butterflies will be a child’s play. Caterpillars will take about 3 weeks to grow into butterflies. The instructions cover all the stages of their life cycle and how to take care of them during every stage. Caterpillars have false legs at the rear of their bodies, which can be used for grasping or as "suction" cups. The birth of the butterfly? After 7 -14 days the chrysalides will darken and you will be able to see the colours of the butterflies through the shell. As the butterfly emerges, it will rest while pumping its wings to full size. After 1 or 2 hours the wings will be full sized and hard and the butterfly is ready to fly. Now you can decorate the inside of your Pavilion or Garden with flowers, twigs & leaves. You can keep your butterflies for 2 – 3 days feeding them sugar solution (sugar and water) or fruit before releasing them in your garden. When a butterfly emerges from the chrysalis, its mouth is made up of two separate pieces. The butterfly must "fuse" or "zip" these two parts together to form one tubular proboscis before it is able to eat.

Butterflies will often feed from mud puddles to ingest minerals and salts, which are important supplements to their diet. Cup of 3-5 LIVE caterpillars with food or voucher to redeem for caterpillars (caterpillars available March to mid-September) Butterfly growing is literally looking after caterpillars in your house until they transform into butterflies to be released into the wild. Watching the life cycle is amazing. What happens next? When the caterpillars are ready to become chrysalides, they will climb to the top of the cup and hang upside down attaching themselves to the paper disc inside the lid. After 24 / 48 hours the chrysalis and will have a beautiful sheen of bronze and gold. When your chrysalides have formed move them into either your Butterfly Garden or Pavilion.This educational kit gives children, students and families an unforgettable opportunity to watch caterpillars change into chrysalides and then emerge as beautiful Painted Lady Butterflies. Raise and feed your very own butterflies and then release them into the wild! The entire transformation from caterpillar to adult butterfly takes about three to five weeks.

A group of butterflies is known as a "flutter", "swarm", "rabble" or "kaleidoscope" of butterflies.

Butterfly Garden Butterfly Breeding Kit– This colourful and reusable Butterfly Garden allows you to study 5 butterflies from caterpillar to butterfly. The Butterfly Garden includes a 30cm hanging / free-standing mesh garden, a VOUCHER for 5 Painted Lady caterpillars and food, pipette for feeding and full instructions. Caterpillars spin silk using tiny spinnerets located on the lower part of the head. When you see a caterpillar moving its head from side to side, it is usually spinning silk. Alternatively, attract butterflies to your own garden by creating a wildlife area with wildflower seeds and pollinator(bee and butterfly)-friendly plants. You don’t need much space – we plant wildflower seeds in a recycled wheelbarrow container, which looks pretty as well as being great for conservation. Find out how to make one here: create a mini meadow in a wheelbarrow