My daughter loved this - we purchased in summer. The kits gives you a code to order the caterpillars when you are ready. They arrive in a cup and you are told to make sure you are home so that they don't stay in the mailbox and over heat. We accidentally left them in there for 2 days - and prayed they would live. All five lived and became butterflies. These are NOT monarch butterflies, but painted lady butterflies. They are gray and brown, not brightly colored. We had a great time watching them, feeding them, and letting them go.