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So I decided to give this another chance. Purchased in guaranteed warmer weather. No fluctuating weather and they arrived. They seemed still the first few days but they soon started to occasionally move about and eat. However this containment is NOT humane. I am not an avid bug farmer but I do known about animal conservation and this is a poor way to give back to the ecosystem. So problem number one the size of the cup is not good for five that it comes with.As they start to grow their cup is riddled with poop. It gets so bad they can't access the food under the mess. The instructions state not to open the cup beforehand so there should be cleaning instructions. Anyone who buys this should ignore the instructions and occasionally remove the poop or you will have starving pillars. I had this issue with one of mine it started to decay because of starvation to the point I took it out to try to revive its will to live. Eventually the containment started to grow mold and I knew this meant that disease had entered their containment unit and that one or possibly more of these butterflies are going to contain this disease. It means they are going to either die or survive and spread this illness to other butterflies once I release them.However the odds these infected butterflies live is minimal during the transfer process I noticed only a few out of each batch that I purchased had the defense mechanism twitch they should have during transfer process. I cleaned the silk threat, exoskeleton and they were completely still no function in them. As someone who knows about butterflies I know they twitch to ward off pray from eating them. So I have a feeling I'm going to have disintegrating virus goo soon and possibly more mold from the decay as these guys die off.All I can hope is the ones that were twitching actually pull through but at the same time releasing them into the wild is a death sentence for them and possibly the other bug population they come in contact with. Normally I wouldn't be a giant bug advocate but this is deplorable and very inhumane. You're sending five in a VERY small container and leaving them to hopefully eat enough that they cycle at the same time leaving them open to disease. You as a company need to provide PROPER containment over four times the size that is provided. Charge extra if you must but do not subject these creatures to starvation and disease because you want to skimp on some expenses for yourselves while you make more profit than you deserve.Animal conservation is a great thing. Teaching kids about the importance of even insect life is super important but this nonsense of subjecting even insects to disease and poor conditions I am almost ashamed I even participated in this process. These creatures deserve better, they deserve better instructions, better containment, more love and respect. They shouldn't be prone to disease because these containers are absolute garbage.

I love the idea of raising butterflies with my kids, and this set provided a good educational experience. However, I've used another company in the past and this experience was a bit mixed.The kit arrived with caterpillars of vastly different sizes, which was a bit odd. Unfortunately, two of the smaller ones didn't make it. Three quickly formed chrysalises, which was exciting for the kids. However, two others are still tiny and seem weeks away from that stage.My biggest issue was that three of the chrysalises fell from the lid of the cup within a few days. I followed the instructions and placed them on a paper towel at the bottom of the enclosure, but I'm worried they won't emerge properly. I never had this problem with the other company I used.While the concept is great and we're enjoying watching the process, the inconsistent caterpillar sizes and the falling chrysalises were disappointing. I hope the remaining caterpillars and fallen chrysalises do well, but I'm not entirely confident.

So far so good.

Habitat itself is wonderful my disabled son and grandchildren love it. Great way to incorporate science with fun!However a few of the caterpillars arrived dead. I followed all procedures and then contacted customer service, and continued to follow instructions given. Response time is horrible. I had to send follow up emails and still haven't heard back. I only requested 1 jar replacement caterpillars although kit can with 2, as some were alive. Really disappointed as this isn't first time I have bought kits, just first time I have had to reach out to customer service.