Care & Instructions
Butterfly Care Instructions
Follow these simple steps to keep your live Painted Lady butterflies healthy and ready for a successful release.
Your butterflies will ship UPS Next Day Air to arrive the day before your release date. In most cities, delivery arrives before noon (Tuesday–Friday or Saturday deliveries). Tuesday releases ship Monday to arrive Tuesday. Your tracking number and delivery commitment time will be emailed when your butterflies ship. Please be present for delivery.
What To Do When Your Butterflies Arrive
Change out the ice pack immediately. Remove the top Styrofoam lid, take out our gel pack (it may be melted or located at the bottom), and replace it with a frozen ice pack you provide (approximately 5 × 6 × 1 inch). Continue using the Styrofoam shipping box as a cooler.
DO NOT STORE YOUR BUTTERFLIES IN A REFRIGERATOR OR FREEZER.
Keep the Styrofoam box in a room-temperature environment. Refreeze our ice pack and change it out about every 12 hours. The goal is to keep the butterflies naturally dormant until release time.
How To Wake Your Butterflies on Release Day
Remove the butterflies (in their envelopes or boxes) from the shipping cooler about 30–60 minutes before release so they can warm up and wake. Keep them away from the ice pack during this time.
For a successful release: outdoors, during daylight hours, and temperatures above 65–70°F. Butterflies will not fly at night, in the rain, extreme wind, or cold temperatures.
Butterfly Transfer Instructions
Transfer the butterflies while they are still cold and dormant. Open each envelope carefully inside the cage or display box so the butterflies cannot escape. Place the envelopes into the cage through the top or side opening.
The butterflies are well-fed before shipping and do not normally need to be fed. If needed, lightly mist the cage with a spray bottle or offer a shallow plate with a paper towel saturated with Gatorade. Remove the food source before release so the butterflies will want to fly.
Butterfly Guarantee & Refund Policy
You will receive live, vibrant, farm-raised butterflies that are indigenous to your area and shipped with the proper USDA permits. We ship extra butterflies to cover rare losses.
We cannot guarantee a successful release if you release the butterflies in inclement weather, after sunset, or if the temperature is below 65–70°F. An alternate option is to display the butterflies as a centerpiece and release them on a better day.
If any butterflies arrive expired, contact us within 24–48 hours and return them for credit. Although our formal guarantee ends after the day of receipt, we are always happy to help troubleshoot any issues.
Delivery & Shipping Policy
We ship live butterflies UPS Next Day Air to arrive the day before your release date (whether you ordered a year in advance or the week of the event).
• Tuesday releases: ship Monday to arrive Tuesday
• Monday releases: ship Friday/Saturday for Saturday delivery (keep them cool until Monday)
Display products (cages, nets, decorator boxes) ship UPS Ground and require at least 4 weeks. Tracking numbers and delivery times are emailed prior to shipping. Please track your package and contact UPS if it is late.
Thank you very much for your butterfly order. Enjoy your release!
A Butterfly Release Company®
407-754-2353
Butterfly Care & Instructions
Important care instructions so your live Painted Lady butterflies arrive healthy and ready for a successful release.
When will my butterflies arrive?
Your butterflies ship UPS Next Day Air to arrive the day before your release date. In most cities delivery arrives before noon (Tuesday–Friday or Saturday deliveries). Tuesday releases ship Monday to arrive Tuesday. Your tracking number and delivery commitment time will be emailed when your butterflies ship. Please be present for delivery.
What do I do when the butterflies arrive?
Change out the ice pack immediately. Remove the top Styrofoam lid, take out our gel pack (it may be melted or located at the bottom), and replace it with a frozen ice pack you provide (approximately 5 × 6 × 1 inch). Continue using the Styrofoam shipping box as a cooler.
DO NOT STORE YOUR BUTTERFLIES IN A REFRIGERATOR OR FREEZER.
Keep the Styrofoam box in a room-temperature environment. Refreeze our ice pack and change it out about every 12 hours. The goal is to keep the butterflies naturally dormant until release time.
How do I wake the butterflies on release day?
Remove the butterflies (in their envelopes or boxes) from the shipping cooler about 30–60 minutes before release so they can warm up and wake. Keep them away from the ice pack during this time.
For a successful release: outdoors, during daylight hours, and temperatures above 65–70°F. Butterflies will not fly at night, in the rain, extreme wind, or cold temperatures.
Butterfly Guarantee
We cannot guarantee a successful release if you release the butterflies in inclement weather, after sunset, or if the temperature is below 65–70°F.
If any butterflies arrive expired, contact us within 24–48 hours and return them for credit. We ship extra butterflies to cover rare losses. It is very rare to have expired butterflies when the care instructions are followed.
Butterfly Transfer Instructions (for Display Cages / Release Boxes)
Transfer the butterflies while they are still cold and dormant. Open each envelope carefully inside the cage so the butterflies cannot escape. Place the envelopes into the cage through the top or side opening.
The butterflies are well-fed before shipping and do not normally need to be fed. If needed, lightly mist the cage with a spray bottle or offer a shallow plate with a paper towel saturated with Gatorade. Remove the food source before release so the butterflies will want to fly.
Butterfly Release Guarantee & Refund Policy
You will receive live, vibrant, farm-raised butterflies that are indigenous to your area and shipped with the proper USDA permits.
We cannot guarantee a successful release in cold weather (below 70°F), rain, or after dark. An alternate option is to display the butterflies as a centerpiece (cover a basket with tulle and ribbon) and release them on a better day.
If butterflies arrive deceased, call us within 24 hours and return them. We ship extras for the rare occasion of casualties. Refunds are issued after returned butterflies are received and tested.
Although our formal guarantee ends after the day of receipt, we are always happy to help troubleshoot any issues. Photos and descriptions of your release environment are very useful.
Delivery and Shipping Policy
We ship live butterflies UPS Next Day Air to arrive the day before your release date (whether you ordered a year in advance or the week of the event).
- Tuesday releases: ship Monday to arrive Tuesday
- Monday releases: ship Friday/Saturday for Saturday delivery (you keep them cool until Monday)
Display products (cages, nets, decorator boxes) ship UPS Ground and require at least 4 weeks. Additional shipping charges (if any) are always approved by you first. Tracking numbers and delivery times are emailed prior to shipping. Please track your package and contact UPS if it is late.
About Butterfly Releases & Customization
Butterfly releases are a beautiful and easy addition to weddings, memorials, birthdays, graduations, fundraisers, and many other events. Each butterfly can arrive in a personalized origami envelope with names and date if desired.
We offer both individual envelope releases and mass releases from decorator boxes. We specialize in large quantities (hundreds or thousands) and obtain the necessary USDA permits at no extra charge (30–45 days notice recommended for very large orders).
All our products are American-made. We can customize decorator boxes, cages, ribbon colors, and flowers to match your event theme. Don’t hesitate to ask for something special — we love custom requests.
Events Suitable for a Butterfly Release
Weddings, Memorials & Funerals, Birthdays, Quinceañeras, Engagements, Anniversaries, Easter, Graduations, Grand Openings, Charity Events, Relay for Life, Hospice events, Classroom/Homeschool projects, and more.
We also help with fundraiser ideas using live butterflies.
Still have questions?
Call us at 407-754-2353 or visit our Questions page.
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We try to lead the industry with products and customer service but we also go above and beyond internet security rules and regulations with our safeguard of your information.
We also abide by the regulations set by the USDA sending butterflies that are not only indigenous but safe for the environment they are released in. Every order we ship out has the USDA permits necessarily for a lawful release protecting you from possible fines by the USDA. Our company works closely with the USDA for special permits if needed. These permits are very important to protect our environment and safeguard our industry.
