Butterfly Habitat

What fun! We recently planted a butterfly garden and purchased some milkweed to attract monarchs. It didn't take long before we had caterpillars. I immediately ordered the Butterfly Habitat and thank goodness I had Amazon Prime because the day I got the Habitat and put the three caterpillars in it, the first one cocooned that night. It was so much fun watching them and then letting them fly away after they came out of the cocoon and strengthened their wings. It feels good that we are able to help the monarchs multiply while their numbers have been dropping off some.Update: I didn't order butterfly's from Amazon, we went to Lowe's and bought some milkweed plants and set them outside. Before we knew what was going on we had 30 caterpillars! I bought a second habitat and things have gone real well. We will only house about 4 or 5 caterpillars at a time in the habitat. The others hang out on the plant. This has been so rewarding and others have gotten interested so I purchased a third one of these as a gift for someone who I'll be giving it to in the spring.I have had no problems with the caterpillars crawling out. Once they crawl to the top they are looking for a convenient and safe place to hang. When I have to open the top to clean the bottom it's no problem because the cocoons are stuck tight. I wouldn't disturb a caterpillar hanging on the top though.

I bought this to put the big fat Monarch caterpillars who are ready to form chrysalises. They seem to be ready when they wander away from the milkweed. I have this on its side and put the caterpillars in with little cups of floral water tubes holding milkweed. I also have one full cup of water with a cover holding a stem of milkweed with leaves and flowers. These anchor the habitat otherwise, it would roll on its side. The only thing I didn't do is sew on some fabric to the top mesh because the caterpillars don't like the mesh to anchor themselves. They are all on the green fabric towards the top (sideways). I will be sewing on fabric in the next habitat that I ordered. These caterpillars were a lot of work! They eat like crazy and I had to go buy four milkweed plants because the ones I have out in the garden have kind of yucky tough leaves. Now I know to start growing milkweed in pots and keep them in partial shade - lots of them!***Found out that the lid doesn't close really good so I used clothespins to secure the lid. Don't put small caterpillars in this cage.

I bought this for my 6 yr old who wanted it to raise and keep butterflies and other insects. It works as intended. It is very lightweight, collapsible, easy to transport. The mesh is durable enough to withstand sharp sticks and branches he stuffs it with. Two problems, so far. A narrow strip of metal spring that is sewn into the seam of the lid to give it its shape poked out at the end exposing a sharp pointy edge. This net instantly turned from being a toy into a weapon. We fixed it using glue and plastic tubing and by filing off the sharp edge.. Problem number two is that it is taking forever to get the caterpilars we ordered the same day we received the net. This was about 4-5 weeks ago. We still don't have the catterpillars.After almost a year of taking heavy use and abuse from my boy, (and after I repaired the sharp edge described above) this toy still works. I am impressed. My boy catches and keeps all kinds of critters in it, butterflies, lizzards, bugs as well as rocks and twigs. The wind and rain kick it around the back yard. The cat plays with it and it is still OK. I am impressed. If it wasn't for the dangerous sharp metal thing which I since fixed I would give it 5 stars.Dec 18 2013. Just changed the title of my review from "good but not very durable" to "good and durable" This net has been taking heavy abuse from a seven year old kid, a cat, wind and rain, it sat at the bottom of the pool and may have been stepped on by my once or twice, but it is still in decent shape. We will be hatching butterflies again in it this spring.

This is a wonderful experience for children. We have been watching and helping Monarchs for a few years and bought this so our grandchildren can experience it up close. We grow milkweed plants in the back yard which you can buy at a garden center. They are very easy to root for future plants. After they lay eggs on the milkweed we move them into our sunroom or a habitat like this along with the milkweed plants. Here you can watch the caterpillars eat all the leaves of the milkweed and grow very fast. Then they will find a branch or something to hang on and begin making the chrysalis. This is all fascinating and if you're lucky, you can actually watch as the butterfly emerges and dries his wings. Then they will actually climb onto your finger and you can take them outside and let them go or put them on a branch. The reason we bring them inside in the beginning is to protect them from natural predators. They must have plenty of milkweed leaves to eat.

I purchased this item since it looked similar to one we had for my daughter several years ago, which we loved. This one was cheaper and had decent reviews so we took a chance. While it works okay as a place to put butterflies we catch outside, there is only one small velcro tab on top to latch it, but plenty of open space at the top for the butterflies to escape. As I remember, the one we had in the past that cost more, had better closures at the top to ensure the butterflies did not escape. Next time, I would spend the extra money to get a more secure habitat.