Dead or alive? Received my caterpillars, but they aren't moving.They are just sitting on the side of the cup in silk. They don't fall off when I gently turn the cup. Are they supposed to be active? ** Update. They don't move a lot, but all 5 of my caterpillars turned into beautiful butterflies! Dead or alive? Received my caterpillars, but they aren't moving.They are just sitting on the side of the cup in silk. They don't fall off when I gently turn the cup. Are they supposed to be... » Read More Dead or alive? Received my caterpillars, but they aren't moving.They are just sitting on the side of the cup in silk. They don't fall off when I gently turn the cup. Are they supposed to be active? ** Update. They don't move a lot, but all 5 of my caterpillars turned into beautiful butterflies! « Show Less
1333534
WE thought ours were dead too, but they all started moving over the next few days.
401540
Our caterpillars acted similarly when we first received them. Over the next few days, they all grew and moved.
51281
you can buy the kit here it comes with the certificate. they can play with the stuff inside wait for warmer weather pay $5 to ship caterpillars to there house or go on the insect lore website n order there. there's a kit WITH LIVE CATERPILLERS option ($27.? with includes the shipping) so when you are ready don't have to wait, its to cold to release butterflies now. has to be least 60degress out. best to keep them inside (but the kids will be sad when they die) better wait for warmer weather.
1095424
i've had mine for about a year now and they're almost all doing well and multiplying and blossoming. but i've had a couple that died because i watered them too much - they turned very dark brown. i also had one that was part of a large cluster that died from not getting enough water. it turned pale beige and brittle. mine are inside in a sunny window and i spray them about once a week - that's all the water they get. i'd keep trying because they're really nice once you get them going and they crop up more so you don't have to buy them. hope this helps.
14479
Actually, i just dumped compost from my tumbler & found a few good sized red worms who are quite alive in the finished compost. They must be quite hearty creatures. If you want to raise them, use a Sun Joe Worm Farm. They will be happier.
1887631
Passion flower vines are host plants for the Gulf Fritallary (sp?) butterfly. Their caterpillars eat the leaves. I don't know of anything other than these catapillers that eats them. I have 4 small ones that are growing fast - I just hope it is fast enough to keep up with the demand from the caterpillars. Geez, those butterflys lay a lot of eggs and they all seem to hatch at once. My husband removed a lot of the caterpillars by hand and we're thinking about covering the plants with mosquito netting until they grow large enough to support the caterpillars - I have milkweed in my yard and it is a joy to see the Monarchs and we've had several Monarch caterpillars go into beautiful green crysalis... Passion flower vines are host plants for the Gulf Fritallary (sp?) butterfly. Their caterpillars eat the leaves. I don't know of anything other than these catapillers that eats them. I have 4 small ones that are growing fast - I just hope it is fast enough to keep up with the demand from the caterpillars. Geez, those butterflys lay a lot of eggs and they all seem to hatch at once. My husband removed a lot of the caterpillars by hand and we're thinking about covering the plants with mosquito netting until they grow large enough to support the caterpillars - I have milkweed in my yard and it... » Read More Passion flower vines are host plants for the Gulf Fritallary (sp?) butterfly. Their caterpillars eat the leaves. I don't know of anything other than these catapillers that eats them. I have 4 small ones that are growing fast - I just hope it is fast enough to keep up with the demand from the caterpillars. Geez, those butterflys lay a lot of eggs and they all seem to hatch at once. My husband removed a lot of the caterpillars by hand and we're thinking about covering the plants with mosquito netting until they grow large enough to support the caterpillars - I have milkweed in my yard and it is a joy to see the Monarchs and we've had several Monarch caterpillars go into beautiful green crysalis... « Show Less
1002529
Also, they don't eat things in the traditional term. It'll catch an insect and it'll be in the trap for a while before one day you realize it's been digested. Don't try to sit and watch it eat something because you'll be there a LONG time. Also, you can't put a fly or insect in its trap and have it stay and be digested. My kids tried more than a dozen times and if it doesn't catch it itself,it'll crawl back out. :)
1524135
I only had a few come up. I had them in a heated terrariums with grow lights but was unable to keep them alive. Hope you have better luck! I have many plants but bought them already grown, lol - I might try again in the spring
2144935
Hi Dino B. Thank you for asking! These are supposed to come to you alive. It is possible that a couple could be dead here and there, depending on the weather during shipment and how long they have been on the seller's shelf or in cooling. As to the customer service, that depends on the seller. Here at Dooya Dubia, we want our customers, and their herps, to be completely satisfied. If you aren't satisfied, we haven't done our job properly. Please read our shipping and returns policies before ordering live insects from us, as we do request that our customers provide us with certain information when ordering such as the temps in your area and whether a Hold for Pickup is necessary. We do our best to make sure that your insects arrive alive. If the temps in your area are above 80 degrees, we include an ice pack so that we may try to maintain our Live Arrival Guarantee. When ordering during temps over 90 degrees, we cannot guarantee live arrival even with an ice pack and require that the package be held for pickup at your local post office. It's just too hot for the insects. We do our best to try to work with our customers, though. Likewise, when ordering during cold whether, with temps under 40 degrees, a heat pack is required. If temps are just too hot or too cold we don't ship until the weather gets better. I hope that this answers your question. If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask!
1329811
These didn't bother me because they are D.E.A.D. dead ... kind of like the little crispy noodle thingies you put on egg drop soup at the Chinese restaurant; HOWEVER, I will NEVER touch or get accustomed to the LIVE ones! Let me count the ways they are so gross and you gotta keep in the fridge to put them to sleep and feed em stuff then wake them up before being put to death by a bird eating them ALIVE ..... Ewwwww! Don't get LIVE ones and I think with practice you can overcome the DEAD ones. Birds like the live better because they went ape, but I think they just have to learn at our house they will NEVER get those again. Hope this helps. These didn't bother me because they are D.E.A.D. dead ... kind of like the little crispy noodle thingies you put on egg drop soup at the Chinese restaurant; HOWEVER, I will NEVER touch or get accustomed to the LIVE ones! Let me count the ways they are so gross and you gotta keep in the fridge to put them to sleep and feed em stuff then wake them up before being put to death by a bird eating them ALIVE ..... Ewwwww! Don't get LIVE ones and I think with practice you can overcome the DEAD ones. Birds like the live better because they went ape, but I think they just have to learn at our house... » Read More These didn't bother me because they are D.E.A.D. dead ... kind of like the little crispy noodle thingies you put on egg drop soup at the Chinese restaurant; HOWEVER, I will NEVER touch or get accustomed to the LIVE ones! Let me count the ways they are so gross and you gotta keep in the fridge to put them to sleep and feed em stuff then wake them up before being put to death by a bird eating them ALIVE ..... Ewwwww! Don't get LIVE ones and I think with practice you can overcome the DEAD ones. Birds like the live better because they went ape, but I think they just have to learn at our house they will NEVER get those again. Hope this helps. « Show Less
1660628
I'm not sure what the rating was on the sf coverage, but it comes on 2 sponges. I actually split the package with my neighbor (they were afraid with 3 dogs I would only drive them out of my yard and into theirs) so between us, we did about 2 acres on the package, as both houses sit on about a 1 acre lot each. We didn't do areas where the dogs never go, so I'd guess a good 1 to 1-1/2 acres was covered. Did them last summer, so far this year, all 5 of our dogs are flea free at this point. They must have feasted all winter long. I also have seen only a few spiders, maybe 1 catepillar, maybe a dozen rolly-pollies, no grubworms at all. It looks as if they had a larvae feast all winter, and we are bug-poor this year - although I'm certainly not complaining about that! If you're "infested" already, you might want to use something strong to knock them back, give that 30 days to get out of the soil so it doesn't kill the nemotodes, and then put them out, and they seem to have really worked around here. I'm about to do my spring maintenance dose in the next week or two. They say about twice a year anyway, spring and late-summer, early fall, to keep them active in your yard. I assume if they eat all the food sources, they'll only move to the neighbors yard. They are actual insects that need to feed, but they do reproduce also. You just need to get and keep them established in your yard.
2141598
At least you got something to hatch. I was unable to hatch anything. I think the eggs are not viable any more. In my experience triops are hardier than daphnia so that's probably the reason you got at least a few of those to hatch.
1148127
I must be missing something, I only see one option. They start out alive, end up as fossils (when the mug is working) and then, after it gets washed accidentally, the images come off.
1817054
My granddaughters play with their butterfly a LOT but that has not happened. sorry. Maybe try using a pin to try to bring it back up?
1356113
yes. Alive and kicking (er crawling, that is). Important to release them IMMEDIATELY or if you can't, immediately chill them in the fridge to keep them in a state of torpor.
834300
It is best to order using overnight delivery to guarantee live bugs. Personally I don't think you would want to keep them in their netting too long after delivery. I'm not a bug expert, but I think they would be OK for a day?? I would contact the seller about that to be sure.
179851
The ladybug's purchased from this vendor did not stay in my yard after they devoured the aphids. I don't know how to make a home for them as the other respondent states he did, however, you should find some information about that on the internet.
2138500
Here is what happened with me. I used this and it was very sticky when it got wet, and two days after using this product I found about 20 dead ladybugs that had been stuck to a leaf. Hope this helps.