We received about 14 or 15 ladybug larvae and all survived to become ladybugs except for one, which I consider to be pretty impressive. The container was especially effective because my son was not able (or tempted) to manhandle to ladybugs, yet it was easy to keep the water filled with the specially designed lid and water tube. We had an excellent view of all the events taking place inside. I would recommend purchasing books to go along with this. We had four different simple books relying upon excellent photographs and easy-to-understand descriptions. This heightened my son's (and our) anticipation and helped us to better understand what was happening.

I can honestly say that this has been well-worth the price we paid for it. Soon we're going to get a refill kit of ladybug larvae and begin anew.

98 of 101 found the following review helpful:

A neat learning experience...  Apr 03, 2004
By Christine
My 4 year old daughter is a ladybug nut. We got this for Christmas and sent away for our larvae which come in a tube in the mail with all the food they need. Even the adults were fascinated watching the larvae turn to pupa and then to ladybugs. The customer service was very helpful when we called because our bugs stopped doing anything. They told us the bugs were "dormant" because it was too cold in my daughters room. We moved them to a warmer spot and within 30 minutes had ladybugs!! Definitely worth the cost. It is clean and sturdy thank goodness! Although the inside does get slightly messy (of course). We loved it.

44 of 47 found the following review helpful:

A ladybug lover's dream  May 15, 2004

My 3-year old absolutely LOVES ladybugs, and this item was a big hit with her. We kept it on the kitchen counter, near where we eat, and the ladybugs and their activities were always a popular dinner conversation topic! When the weather turned warm enough, we released the ladybugs in our yard and watched each and every one of them spread their wings and fly away. I am sure we will order additional larvae and do it all over again. The product is sturdy (we just had to remind our daughter not to jostle or try to lift the dome) and makes it easy to achieve successful results. A very fun and experience for the entire family!!

46 of 50 found the following review helpful:

Oregon beware  Mar 16, 2006
By Stephanie Burns
I bought this for my niece for her birthday. I was disappointed to find out when the package was delivered that they don't send the ladybug larva to Oregon. There wasn't anything indicating that the ladybug larva couldn't be sent to certain states.

53 of 59 found the following review helpful:

Not a Good Experience  Dec 14, 2007
By Patricia Kaiser
My sister ordered this for my 11 year old daughter. We promptly ordered the larvae with the understanding that they would not mail them until the weather conditions were agreeable. We ordered them in Texas in August so when we didn't get them for a couple of months, we thought it was still too hot. Finally about 4 months after we ordered the larvae (and had received nothing), I called the company. Firstly, they acted like I was crazy for not having called them sooner and/or was lying about it. They asked for proof of purchase. I said I had our half of the postcard that we used to order the larvae. They asked that I fax a copy of this to them. (Still felt like they thought I was trying to pull some scam!!) We then received a mailing tube of what appeared to be dead larvae. We went ahead and followed all directions to the letter. Nothing ever moved, lived or developed at all. I faxed a copy of the original card again telling them that everything was dead when received and/or died in transit. That was at least 6 months ago and they never even responded. Don't waste your money on this. Sadly, the company is not at all interested in the children that are disappointed. Every time I look at that empty habitat (kinda cute actually), I'm furious at a company that doesn't care that my 11 year old (now 12) got a useless gift that should have been a good gift! Shame on Insect Lore!!!

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