What Insect Lore USA does

Insect Lore USA is a private, family-owned manufacturer and direct-to-consumer seller of live insect-raising kits founded in 1969 and headquartered in Shafter, California. The company operates its own California butterfly and ladybug nurseries that have produced caterpillars for over 55 years and ladybug larvae for over 25 years, supplying all live specimens for its kits. Core products include the Butterfly Garden® kit with Painted Lady caterpillars, the Ladybug Land® domed habitat kit with Pink Spotted Ladybug larvae, and the Ant Hill™ kit with Harvester ants, each sold as either an immediate-shipment live kit, a prepaid voucher kit redeemable at the customer's preferred date, or a refill pack for existing habitat owners.

The product architecture combines reusable branded habitats (a pop-up mesh tent with Chrys-A-Lid™ holding logs for butterfly chrysalides, a domed diorama with a built-in magnifying lid and water reservoir for ladybugs, and an escape-proof two-sided viewing case for ants) with proprietary STEM.org-authenticated activity journals and accessories. All live orders ship FedEx 2Day at a flat $14.95 rate from the Shafter facility, with explicit shipping restrictions to Mexico, Canada, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and military addresses. The product line has extended beyond the three core insects into praying mantis kits, life-cycle figurines (butterfly, ladybug, praying mantis, ant, frog), and accessories such as Pollinator Pods and Mantis Buzzerks® goggles.

The business model is a product-led growth, direct-to-consumer e-commerce operation (Shopify storefront at insectlore.com), supplemented by a wholesale channel on the Faire marketplace, a dedicated school-district application process with tax-exempt handling for K-12 bulk purchases, and a separate Insect Lore Europe entity serving the UK and EU. Revenue mechanics are primarily one-time perpetual kit sales at $34.99-$52.98 for core SKUs and $8.99-$31.98 for refills and accessories, with repeat-purchase retention driven by the reusable-habitat + refill model and the Pollinator Club loyalty program.

Name

Insect Lore USA

Legal name

Insect Lore

Website

https://insectlore.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Insect Lore USA is a family-owned manufacturer founded in 1969 that sells live insect-raising kits — butterflies, ladybugs, ants, and praying mantises — directly to families and K-12 schools through e-commerce, wholesale, and its own California nursery.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Live Insect Kits

NAICS

Doll, Toy, and Game Manufacturing (339930)

SIC

Games, Toys & Children's Vehicles (No Dolls & Bicycles) (3944)

akta.pro primary industry

Insect Farming (Crickets, Mealworms, Black Soldier Fly) (AFAEAIAI)

Keywords

• Educational insect kits
• Live butterfly kits
• Ladybug larvae kits
• Ant farm habitats
• STEM life cycle products

Headquarters

HQ city

Shafter

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Direct E-commerce Sales: Primary revenue stream through insectlore.com website selling live insect kits, habitats, refills, and accessories directly to consumers. Products include butterfly kits, ladybug kits, ant farms, and related educational materials.
2. Prepaid Voucher Sales: Sale of kits with prepaid vouchers for future redemption of live insects. Customers purchase the kit upfront and redeem the voucher when ready to receive live caterpillars, ladybug larvae, or ants.
3. Refill and Replacement Orders: Repeat purchases of caterpillars, ladybug larvae, and ants for existing habitat owners. Includes Cup of Caterpillars refills, Tube of Ladybug Larvae refills, and Tube of 25 Live Harvester Ants.
4. Wholesale Distribution: Wholesale channel through Faire marketplace (insectlore.faire.com) for retail and educational distributors.
5. School District Sales: Dedicated application process for school districts to purchase classroom kits, including the 33 Caterpillar School Kit.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Insect Lore USA designs, manufactures, and sells live insect-raising kits (butterfly, ladybug, and ant kits) bundled with reusable observation habitats, STEM journals, and accessories. The company raises caterpillars, ladybug larvae, and Harvester ants at its family-owned California nursery and ships live specimens direct-to-consumer through its e-commerce store and to schools through dedicated B2B channels.

Product overview

Insect Lore USA is the world's first butterfly-by-mail company, offering a portfolio of live insect kits and educational products centered on life cycle observation. The core product line consists of butterfly raising kits (Butterfly Garden® with cups of caterpillars), ladybug kits (Ladybug Land® with larvae), and ant farm kits (Ant Hill™ with Harvester ants), each available as live shipment kits, prepaid voucher kits for delayed delivery, or refills for repeat growers. Supporting products include life cycle figurines representing butterflies, ladybugs, praying mantises, ants, and frogs; STEM activity journals in multiple languages; and accessories such as feeders, magnifying tools, and dress-up items. The company also offers a loyalty program (Pollinator Club) and blog content covering butterflies, ladybugs, ants, praying mantises, and classroom activities. All live insect products are shipped from the company's California facility with temperature-sensitive shipping protocols.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Butterfly Garden: Flagship butterfly-raising kit that allows children to observe caterpillars transform into Painted Lady butterflies
• Ladybug Land
• Ant Hill
• Pollinator Club

Products and services

• Butterfly Garden® Kit with Live Caterpillars All-in-one kit containing live Painted Lady caterpillars, a reusable pop-up mesh habitat, Chrys-A-Lid™ holding logs, a flower-shaped feeder, sugar packets, a feeding dropper, and a STEM butterfly journal. Designed for families with children ages 4+ and for classroom use to observe butterfly metamorphosis over approximately three weeks.
• Ladybug Land® Kit with Live Ladybug Larvae Kit containing 10–15 Pink Spotted Ladybug larvae, a domed diorama-style habitat with built-in magnifying lid, water reservoir, watering dropper, and STEM activity journal. STEM.org authenticated for educational use; aimed at families and K-12 classrooms to observe ladybug metamorphosis.
• Ant Hill™ Kit with Live Harvester Ants Kit with two tubes of 25 Harvester ants (50 total), a two-sided viewing habitat with escape-proof locking lid, easy-dig sand, a sand rod for starting tunnels, and a STEM ant journal. Targets families and classrooms wanting to observe ant tunneling and colony behavior.
• Butterfly Garden® with Prepaid Voucher Butterfly kit sold with a prepaid voucher redeemable for 5 caterpillars at a future date. Includes mesh habitat, Chrys-A-Lid® holding log, butterfly feeder, and STEM observation journal. Suitable for gifting or for buyers not ready to receive live insects immediately.
• Ladybug Land® with Prepaid Voucher Ladybug kit with prepaid voucher redeemable for 10–15 larvae at a future date, including the domed habitat with magnifying cap and Budding Entomologist ladybug journal.
• Ant Hill™ with Prepaid Voucher for Live Ants Ant habitat kit sold with a prepaid voucher redeemable for 50 Harvester ants. Features colorful diorama design with lizard decoration, easy-breathe lid, and enhanced climbing surfaces.
• Cup of Caterpillars™ Basic Refill Refill containing 5 Painted Lady caterpillars with all food needed to grow them into butterflies, designed for customers who already own a Chrys-A-Lid™ holding log and reusable habitat.
• Tube of Ladybug Larvae Refill Refill tube of 10–15 Pink Spotted Ladybug larvae for customers who already own a Ladybug Land® habitat.
• Tube of 25 Live Harvester Ants Refill Refill pack containing 25 Harvester ants for Ant Hill™ habitat owners wanting to repeat the ant-keeping experience.
• Life Cycle Figurines (Butterfly, Ladybug, Praying Mantis, Ant, Frog) Educational toy figurine sets (Butterfly, Ladybug, Praying Mantis, Ant, and Frog Life Cycle Stages) showing the four development phases; safety-tested for children and used for comparative biology learning alongside or independent of the live kits.
• STEM Activity Journals and Insect Lore Library Companion educational materials sold separately, including STEM activity journals in English and Spanish (e.g., Junior Entomologist for ages 7–10, Spanish Butterfly Journal for ages 4–7, Budding Entomologist Ladybug Journal) and the Insect Lore Library collection of insect-themed books.
• School District Classroom Kits Bulk classroom kits (e.g., 33 Caterpillar School Kit) sold to K-12 schools and districts through a dedicated application process with tax-exempt certificate handling. Designed for NGSS-aligned life cycle science instruction.

Quantifiable outcome

• Guarantee that 3 out of 5 caterpillars per cup will develop into healthy adult butterflies
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Learning Resources: Major STEM and early-childhood educational product company serving schools and families. Targets the same classroom STEM wallet as Insect Lore's school channel with a much broader product catalog across science, math, and coding.
• Toysmith: Educational toy manufacturer and distributor that has sold butterfly growing kits and ant farms through mass retail. Competes with Insect Lore on toy-store shelves but does not operate its own live-insect nursery.
• Carolina Biological Supply: Large established science education supplier offering live specimens, preserved specimens, and STEM curriculum materials to schools nationwide. Overlaps with Insect Lore's school-district channel but operates across all life sciences rather than specializing in insect kits.
• Safari Ltd: Manufacturer of educational figurines including the life cycle stages of frogs, butterflies, and other animals — directly comparable to Insect Lore's figurine line. Operates across the broader educational toy category without live-insect involvement.

Others

• Nature's Good Guys: Producer and shipper of live beneficial insects (ladybugs, praying mantis eggs, lacewings) primarily for garden pest control. Comparable in the live-insect-by-mail logistics capability but serves an entirely different end use (gardening, not education).
• Insect Lore Europe: Subsidiary entity serving UK and EU markets with the same Insect Lore product line. Listed as a peer for completeness given it is a directly comparable operating business in the same category, although under common ownership.
• BioQuip Products: Entomology supply company providing collecting equipment, insect habitats, and specimens to universities and researchers. Adjacent to Insect Lore through habitat design expertise and insect husbandry, but serves professional rather than consumer/education markets.

Direct peers

• Live Monarch: Educational butterfly and caterpillar kit seller focused on Monarch and Painted Lady species. Targets the same family-and-classroom segment with a similar live-by-mail model, making it a close substitute in the consumer insect kit category.
• Magic of Life Butterflies: UK-based butterfly kit maker raising Painted Lady caterpillars for classroom and family release. Operates a butterfly nursery in similar fashion to Insect Lore and competes directly in the European market segment that Insect Lore also targets.
• Uncle Milton Industries: Iconic maker of ant farms and STEM insect observation toys (now part of Spin Master). Most directly comparable to Insect Lore on the Ant Hill product line — both sell enclosed habitats with live ants targeted at families and classrooms.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC_zR7hmKEvbYy4K mature content
• Facebookfacebook.com/insectlore
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/insect-lore-products
• Instagraminstagram.com/insectloreofficial

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Insect Lore USA