mlktwins Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 So, Spring is coming and I want to grow frogs, butterflies, and ladybugs with my boys. I have a ladybug kit (need to get the larvae) that we will do when it gets a little warmer. I was going to order a butterfly house/kit, but was thinking of just getting a big jar and putting branches and leaves in it and covering it with mesh. If I do this, where do I get the butterflies? Also, when do tadpoles come out for me to go catch -- or can I order them? I live in Northern Virginia if that helps. I'm 43 and the boys (5.5) are my only kids. I haven't captured tadpoles in many, many year :tongue_smilie:! How do I feed tadpoles? Any advice is much appreciated. I'm also taking the boys to the National Museum of Natural History to see the live butterfly exhibit. I'm so excited! Thanks much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GypsieFamily Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 I don't know about where you are, but in Melbourne the zoo had butterfly eggs for schools and homeschooling came under that. I can't help you with any of the other questions, but we did find a frog that came inside here yesturday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ELaurie Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 We ordered a butterfly "pavilion" :tongue_smilie: from a company called Insect Lore. Five caterpillars were included in the cost of the pavilion. You can also find them at toy stores, and sometimes they are sold in museum gift shops or at nature centers. The caterpillars have to be ordered separately from the company, and they arrive in a little cup with all of the food they need to mature until they are ready to form their cocoons. The company guarantees that at least three will mature into butterflies. Once you have the pavilion, you can use the code # that comes with it to order additional butterflies. The temperature has to be warm enough to release the butterflies; I forget exactly how warm it has to be if you want to release them. We fed the butterflies with tiny pieces of watermelon or oranges; they sucked the juice out with their proboscides (isn't that a cool word - I just looked it up :001_smile:) . The tadpoles are trickier to raise, in our experience. We bought ours at a local pet store, and made sure they were the kind that could be released in our area. We set up a fish tank with shallow water for them, but the water had to be changed frequently because it wasn't deep enough to run the filter. It was fun for the kids, but a bit of a hassle. Only one lived to maturity. We fed them some kind of fish food, as I recall, when they were in the tadpole stage, and then we fed them live crickets when they matured. The kids loved that part, although I thought it was a little gross :tongue_smilie: We released the one that survived in a local pond. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisabees Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 Oooh - can I share some books that were recommended on the boards? I am looking forward to ordering them soon. Bug Zoo Creepy Crawlies and the Scientific Method Check out these two threads - you'll love them. The last two pages of the "What's the coolest thing..." has the bug stuff. http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=221518&highlight=bug+zoo+baker http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=228719&highlight=bug+zoo+baker Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 We bought a butterfly pavilion a couple of years ago and then ordered more caterpillars here: http://www.butterfly-gifts.com/live-butterfly-kits.html They're a lot of fun - we kept the pavilion and raised caterpillars again last year. Maybe we'll do it again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidlit Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 We got tadpoles one year from my parents' swimming pool, which had been left uncovered all spring. :tongue_smilie: Unfortunately, due to my negligence, they met with a bad end. We have also raised painted lady butterflies in the past, and we just got another shipment of caterpillars in yesterday. I'm excited to watch the transformation again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalmia Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 If you can't keep the frogs, it's better to catch tadpoles in a neighbor's pond and release the resulting frogs back to the same pond than to release frogs from other regions. You could accidentally spread fungal and parasitic diseases to your local pond by releasing mail-order frogs there. Bullfrog tadpoles (the big greenish ones) are very common and take two years to mature. Once the water is open you should be able to catch a big one that will be ready to metamorphose this year. Otherwise just pop down to the pond every week or so beginning in March and sweep a net through the vegetation, you'll eventually get a tadpole. In our area (NY), the wood frogs and spring peepers frogs begin laying eggs in March. Toads in April (toads are good, their black tadpoles hang out in huge groups and are easy to catch, also you can release the adults in your backyard). Then green frogs, gray tree frogs, pickerel frogs, and bullfrogs call and lay eggs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 We did the butterfly pavilion from Insect Lore for a couple of years now and Ariel loved it both times. She is already asking if we can do it again this year. (We usually do it in the spring.) I bought an ant farm, but haven't ordered the ants because they won't ship regularly until mid-March and I'm not sure I want to pay the fee for 2-3 day shipping for insects. :tongue_smilie: (We can't get any locally because our area is almost exclusively fire ant territory and they aren't recommended.) I've also noticed they have ladybug houses and praying mantis homes, as well as earthworm farms. To get butterflies, you'll likely want to start them from caterpillars, so your boys can watch them hatch from their cocoons. Even my husband was fascinated. :lol: You can order virtually anything on the internet. If you do order tadpoles, make sure they are not the African Clawed Frog because they are illegal in your state (invasive species), not to mention very long-lived (usually 5-20 years). I know I wouldn't want to have to take care of an amphibian that long, but that's just me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UmMusa Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 We are doing our first Insect Lore butterflies right now! The last one came out of its cocoon this afternoon!! It has been great fun. Being as cold as it's been our cycle took longer than the normal two week one. Each stage lasted a couple of days longer than they expected them too. However, 4 of the 5 turned into adults. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roxanne23 Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 (edited) . Edited January 4, 2023 by roxanne23 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TiaNKids Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 We've ordered caterpillars from that insect lore (they have kits that include some kind of pavilion or habitat but you can also order just the caterpillar and create a habitat like you had suggested with a jar) and we have also gotten them from outside. You can create a butterfly garden by planting a host plant for the caterpillars and then some kind of feeding flower for the butterflies. As far tadpoles, we haven't had any luck :( We tried getting them from those kits (they eventually died) and even tried the pet shop (they died as well). We just put in a pond last year though and we attracted several frogs so my kids are hopeful that they will come back in the spring and lay some eggs :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeanne in MN Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 We are doing our first Insect Lore butterflies right now! The last one came out of its cocoon this afternoon!! It has been great fun. Being as cold as it's been our cycle took longer than the normal two week one. Each stage lasted a couple of days longer than they expected them too. However, 4 of the 5 turned into adults. I should just keep my mouth shut, but butterflies hatch out of chyrsalises (or chrysalids) and moths hatch out of cocoons. :001_smile: Enjoy your new butterflies! I love hatching out butterflies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 Thanks to the op for starting this, I just ordered the Creepy Crawly book and am looking at the butterflies. I need to read more we see caterpillars quite often, well not right now. I bet we could save money. I should call the Cons. dept to learn about tadpoles in this area as well we have a river very close and lots of ponds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlktwins Posted February 10, 2011 Author Share Posted February 10, 2011 Thanks ladies for your wonderful advice. I think I'm going to pass this year on the tadpoles (we are moving and I have enough on my plate) and do butterflies and ladybugs. Maybe I'll even try a worm :-). Oooh - can I share some books that were recommended on the boards? I am looking forward to ordering them soon. Bug Zoo Creepy Crawlies and the Scientific Method Thanks for the book recommendations. I put them on hold at the library to take a look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weaver_67579 Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 butterfly and tadpole kits from Nasco science catalog. they have a lot of other educational catalogs as well-art-preschool, phys ed..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalphs Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 So, Spring is coming and I want to grow frogs, butterflies, and ladybugs with my boys. I have a ladybug kit (need to get the larvae) that we will do when it gets a little warmer. I was going to order a butterfly house/kit, but was thinking of just getting a big jar and putting branches and leaves in it and covering it with mesh. If I do this, where do I get the butterflies? Also, when do tadpoles come out for me to go catch -- or can I order them? I live in Northern Virginia if that helps. I'm 43 and the boys (5.5) are my only kids. I haven't captured tadpoles in many, many year :tongue_smilie:! How do I feed tadpoles? Any advice is much appreciated. I'm also taking the boys to the National Museum of Natural History to see the live butterfly exhibit. I'm so excited! Thanks much! I would highly recommend Insect Lore www.insectlore.com ! The customer service department is great! Our shipment of ladybugs arrived in poor shape and they replaced them free of charge. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annlaura Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 We've been thinking about doing butterflies, but I didn't realize you could do ladybugs! How fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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