Each Monarch Rearing Kit contains fourteen to sixteen 3- to 5-day-old monarch larvae (caterpillars) and rearing instructions. The larvae arrive in small cups with milkweed diet for shipping and must be transferred to milkweed plants or leaves to complete their development.
Please make sure you have fresh milkweed available before your caterpillars arrive. Each caterpillar generally needs 18 inches of milkweed to pupate. Pupation will occur in about 10 days and adults will emerge 10-14 days after pupation.
These larval rearing kits can be used for educational purposes in schools, homes, or other settings. For example, classroom instruction, student projects or other educational activities.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Please read before placing an order for Monarch Rearing Kits
- You must have a source of fresh milkweed available in your area before your requested ship week.
- We require a street address for shipping; rearing kits cannot be delivered to a PO Box.
- Please make arrangements for someone to accept your package during your selected ship week. Kits are shipped Monday–Thursday via overnight service for delivery Tuesday–Friday and you will receive tracking information when your order ships.
- Monarch Rearing Kits are shipped via overnight service to minimize the amount of time the caterpillars are in transit. The shipping fee is $33 for up to 4 kits.
- We are not responsible for packages that are delivered to receiving departments, delayed in delivery to the intended recipient, or left unattended at a residence.
- We cannot guarantee a specific delivery date; however, we do our best to fill all orders during the requested ship week.
- If there is a chance your kit(s) will not be delivered the week you requested, you will be notified via email (if provided) by Friday of the requested week. Your kit(s) will roll over to the next available ship week unless you contact us to select a new ship week.
- Due to USDA regulations we are able to ship monarch rearing kits only to areas within the United States, east of the continental divide; however, we cannot ship these kits to Montana or Connecticut at this time.
- To submit a purchase order, click here. If paying by check, click here. Your requested ship week must be shown on your order form and/or PO; otherwise, your order processing will be delayed.
You must have fresh, uncontaminated milkweed for your caterpillars ready when they arrive. Each caterpillar generally needs 18 inches of milkweed to pupate. Pupation will occur in about 10 days and adults will emerge 10-14 days after pupation.
We are not responsible for caterpillar mortality due to inappropriate or contaminated food sources.
Additional Resources
If the majority of your caterpillars do not arrive alive or perish within 48 hours of their arrival, we will replace the caterpillars or credit your account. Unfortunately, some caterpillars die due to shipping and handling. We have included a few extra caterpillars to increase the likelihood you will have a successful experience.
Monarchs require special care and we cannot guarantee that all of your caterpillars will become butterflies. In the wild, only a small percentage of the larvae survive disease, parasites, and predation to become adults. If you follow the directions included with your kit, the majority of your caterpillars should become butterflies.
We have many quality control checks before we ship any caterpillars. A few of the precautions we use are washing all milkweed before monarchs lay eggs on them or before the caterpillars are fed, testing for OE, carefully moving the caterpillars to the shipping cups one at a time with a paintbrush, and checking the cups before shipping to ensure all caterpillars are healthy.
You must notify us within 72 hours of your package delivery (including weekends) if you experienced caterpillar mortality problems. Use one of the methods below and include as much information as possible.
- Please fill out this form. Select "Rearing Kit Issue" from the "Monarch Watch Question Type" drop-down box and the rearing kit specific questions will appear.
- You may also call 1(800)780-9986 or email us at [email protected]. Please include:
- Your name
- Order number
- The date you received your shipment
- A description of the condition of the diet, caterpillars, and the shipping package
- A description of the rearing conditions including your source of milkweed used to feed the larvae.
We cannot be held responsible for packages and caterpillars left unattended, the use of inappropriate food plants, or rearing conditions. After this 72-hour period, we reserve the right to deny your request for replacements or credit.
Rearing Kits are exclusively for eastern monarchs which live east of the continental divide.
Information & Resources for Western Monarchs
There are two geographically distinct Monarch populations in North America. The eastern population overwinters in Mexico and breeds east of the Rocky Mountains. The western population overwinters along the California coast and breeds in areas west of the continental divide.
Learn more about the Western Monarch Population: