Bug Camp

Insect Lore Shipping Policy

At Insect Lore, the safety and well-being of your live specimens are of utmost importance. As you can imagine, shipping live insects adds an additional level of complexity to the shipping process, so our goal is to get your insects to you as quickly as possible.

If you choose USPS (includes Saturday delivery) and place your order during the week, it may take 24 hours to process and prepare your live order and approximately 3 to 5 business days for your package to arrive. For the most accurate information, be sure to check your ship confirmation email for your tracking number. Please remember that our shipping facilities are closed on the weekends and holidays.

If you would like to receive your live order even sooner, you can choose FedEx 2 Day Delivery or FedEx Overnight. FedEx 2 Day and FedEx Overnight do not include Saturday or Sunday delivery. If you choose one of these options and order after 9 am PST/12 pm EST, your order will ship the next business day (we do not ship on Saturday or Sunday.) Please call us at 1-800-548-3284 if you have shipping questions. If you are shipping to a P.O. Box, you cannot choose expedited shipping. Choose USPS if you are shipping to a P.O. Box (Note: Please allow us 24 hours to process your live order prior to shipment).

•Select a ship date that allows you to observe and enjoy the entire life cycle of your live insects. Plan for any school breaks, holidays or extended weekends that might interrupt your project. You must be prepared to watch over your caterpillars on a daily basis. Keep in mind that you will release your adult insects between 3 to 4 weeks after you receive your live shipment.

•Ship your insects to an indoor address, if possible. It is best to have live shipments sent to a building, where temperatures are controlled, rather than to an outdoor mailbox, where temperatures may be extreme.

•Track your package online so you are prepared to receive them. You will receive tracking information via email as soon as your order has shipped. You must be available to open the package containing your live insects immediately upon receipt. They will not survive in a hot mailbox or warehouse. Please do not leave live shipments unattended.

•During extreme weather, it may be necessary to delay shipping our insects for their protection. Our insects travel all over the country. Even though it may be cool in your area, traveling through Arizona or Texas in the heat of the summer may be very dangerous for our insect friends. If you have an urgent need for your insects, please select expedited delivery. This should enable your insects to be shipped quickly enough to protect them from most extreme weather conditions.

•If you choose expedited shipping, weekends are not transit days. Choosing 1 or 2-day shipping means your shipment will arrive on a business day; Saturday and Sunday delivery are not available. Drop shipments may take up to 3 weeks. Due to import restrictions, Insect Lore cannot ship outside the Continental United States. We cannot ship live insect specimens to Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Canada or Mexico. We cannot ship live products overseas.

Insect Lore is not responsible for lost or stolen vouchers. A $25 fee will be charged for returned checks.

Insect Lore is the Original Butterflies-By-Mail Company. We have been delivering the Magic of Metamorphosis to families and classrooms for over 50 years! We take great pride in the quality of our educational products and the reliability of our Live Insect Kits. However, nature can be unpredictable and the hatch rate is not always 100%. That's why we guarantee 3 out of 5 caterpillars will develop into adult butterflies, and 5 out of 10-13 ladybug larvae will develop into adult ladybugs.

Ordering live insects takes serious responsibility on your part. When ordering, make sure your shipping information is accurate and track your order so you can receive it promptly when it arrives at your location. A live shipment must not be left unattended in a mailbox - especially in hot weather. We cannot accept responsibility if you input the wrong shipping address when you place your order.

PLEASE INSPECT YOUR LIVE SHIPMENT IMMEDIATELY and contact us at customerservice@insectlore.com (or call us at 1-800-548-3284) within 10 business days of receipt if your item is damaged or defective.

Our return policy is a little different than most because we provide live insects to our customers. When you receive your live insects, please give them a day or two to acclimate to their new surroundings. Don't worry about any lack of movement at first; your insects need some time to settle after their journey to you. Soon, they will be eating and growing before your very eyes!

On the rare occasion that you feel there may be something wrong with your insects, DO NOT THROW YOUR INSECTS AWAY. They are likely just fine.

LIVE PRODUCTS ARE NON-RETURNABLE. If your live order does not fulfill our guarantee, do not send the live shipment back to Insect Lore. Instead, please contact Insect Lore at guarantee@insectlore.com within 10 days of receipt of your purchase to request a replacement. If a live order has been returned to us a restocking fee of 50% of the order, plus $7.95 shipping will be applied. If a live order has been returned to us, and you wish to have a replacement shipped, a restocking fee of 50 of the order, plus $7.95 shipping will be applied. If a live order has been returned to us, and you require a refund, a restocking fee of 50% of the order, plus $7.95 shipping will be applied to the refund.

Non-returnable items include gift cards and vouchers. Refunds for non-live items Once your non-live return is received and inspected, we will send you an email to notify you that we have received your returned item. We will also notify you of the approval or rejection of your refund. If you are approved, then your refund will be processed, and a credit will automatically be applied to your credit card or original method of payment. Late or missing refunds (if applicable) If you haven’t received a refund yet, first check your bank account again. Then contact your credit card company, it may take some time before your refund is officially posted. Next contact your bank. There is often some processing time before a refund is posted. If you’ve done all of this and you still have not received your refund yet, please contact us at customerservice@insectlore.com. Exchanges (if applicable) We only replace non-live items if they are defective or damaged. If you need to exchange it for the same item, send us an email at customerservice@insectlore.com and send your item to: Insect Lore Products Inc., 132 S Beech Avenue, Shafter CA 93263, United States. Shipping To return a non-live product, you should mail your product to: Insect Lore Products Inc., 132 S Beech Avenue, Shafter CA 93263, United States You will be responsible for paying for your own shipping costs for returning your non-live item. Shipping costs are non-refundable. If you receive a refund, the cost of return shipping will be deducted from your refund. Depending on where you live, the time it may take for your exchanged product to reach you may vary. If you are shipping an item over $75, you should consider using a trackable shipping service or purchasing shipping insurance. We don’t guarantee that we will receive your returned item.