Beautiful Butterfly and Super-Sized Silkworms Kits

If you have already purchased a Butterfly Skye's Creature Kit and would like to use your mail order code please click here now !

You can now experience the life cycle of a beautiful monarch butterfly or fascinating silkworm without the need for host plants (milkweed and mulberry leaves). Butterfly Skye’s butterfly and silkworm kits can be supplied to you with specially formulated artificial diet so that you can still have this fantastic experience, even if you live in the city! Just ask us how

Information about Butterflies and Silkworms

Butterflies are from the insect order Lepidoptera and undergo complete metamorphosis. They have 4 life stages and there are around 420 species of butterfly in Australia. The Monarch butterfly is common in Australia and throughout the world. This orange butterfly is one of the larger species of butterfly we have in Australia with the wing span getting to around 10cm.

Silkworms were domesticated by the Chinese around 5000 years ago and no longer exist in the wild. Silkworms eat Mulberry leaves and as their name suggests are used to make silk. The silkworm will grow up to 70 times its original size before it spins a cocoon. The silk from the cocoon of the silkworm is gently spun from the cocoon, and the length of the silk can reach up to 300 meters.

Butterfly and Silkworm Life Cycle

Butterflies and silkworms undergo complete metamorphosis and have 4 life stages. They both start off as eggs from which a tiny caterpillar will emerge. The caterpillar will them eat allot of food and grow very fast until it is ready to form a cocoon or chrysalis. As the caterpillar grows it will shed its skin (normally around 5 times) and each time it sheds its skin it is called an instar. When the caterpillar is ready it will form its cocoon or chrysalis and will stay inside here for around 2 weeks, after this the adult butterfly or silkworm moth will emerge.