Caterpillar hatching kits

Hi has anyone used one of those caterpillar kits where you watch the butterflies emerge?
I have a mindee that is fascinated by insects and I quite like them too so thought this would be a nice spring like activitiy.
I'm making a hungry caterpillar story sack, and life cycle posters. Were also planting a butterfly garden alongside the veg patch. Any other ideas what activities I could plan. Got a few weeks until the caterpillars arrive and then another few weeks before the butterflies emerge so plenty of time for planning activities games etc.
Thank you

We've done the caterpillar hatching a few times and the children have always enjoyed them. We haven't done them recently, so I think I might get some more for the children I've got now.

How old are your mindees? Mine are only 1 & 2 year olds, so we don't do anything too adventurous, but they have enjoyed butterfly painting where they paint on one side of the paper and fold it over to print on the other side.

You MUST do the caterpillars - it's simply wonderful for the children. Mine love going shopping for fruit for them once they have emerged and love making the sugar water.

You can't beat a mini beast hunt. Look under logs for woodlice etc. Look for mini beast tracks - spider webs, slug/snail trails - get the magnifying glasses out. Get some simple books from the library and then make your own, depending on what you find.

Make a wormery, make a tullgren funnel, a bug hotel, shake a bush/small tree with a white sheet/sheet of paper underneath it.

All of our local parks/national trust place and forests seem to be really promoting mini beasts right now - we have been on loads of brilliant workshops recently and there's a lot planned over Easter too - mini beast safaris, pond dipping, bee keeping for kids, worm workshops to name but a few. Check out what's on near you (not sure how old your mindees are). I don't know where you live but if it's London let me know and I'll tell you the local places that we go to/are going to.

There are some lovely websites with ideas too - I'll look them up and post them when I find them.

We do them most years. The children love watching them. However I don't think the children have ever actually seen them hatch!! The first year my 22yr old daughter saw them first and was so excited. We stood and watched them and videoed it to show the children

I love the idea of a mini beast hunt, i've got some magnifying glasses and some giant insects I could hide in the garden as a treasure hunt type activity. Just remembered about my giant tweezers for fine motor
How could I forget butterfly pictures, I've got luminous paints and we can paint them on acetate and make sun catchers....ooh this topic is right up my street. Thank you all so much for your help.....Can't find acetate is there any way I could repurpose laminate pouches?
The children I look after are 2x1 yr old, 1x2 yr old and 2 x pre schoolers, there are also 3 before and after school children aged between 5 and 8. I work 4 days a week and all the children come for between 1 and 3 days so I get a nice mix of ages without being really full.