First Aid for Butterflies ! Help out a butterfly..
By roshand8
@roshand8 (1478)
Sri Lanka
August 16, 2008 1:49am CST
It breaks my heart to see a butterfly struggling,on it's last wings,so to speak.So I was surprised to learn recently that there are things one can actually do to help out a butterfly in distress.
If you find a butterfly with a torn wing.You can tape it! You can try to carefully use a small bit of lightweight transparent tape to mend the wing.This may allow the butterfly to fly again and to live long enough to reproduce,it may even let it live out it's normal lifespan.You can also feed a weak or injured butterfly a diluted sugar water or just plain water can be enough.
Follow these steps:
1. Rubbing the powder off the wings will not prevent it from flying,handle them very carefully.Be sure that your hand are dry.With your thumb and index finger,grasp the butterfly by the wings,close to the butterfly's shoulders as possible.Very light pressure is needed.If the butterfly seems scared and turn it upside down.This will immediately calm it down.
2.Place the patient's feet on a moistened pad that has been saturated with sugar water(mix one teaspoon of sugar in one cup of filtered water.)
3.Begin to move the wing up and down in a flapping motion.This action may start suction inside the proboscis and draw the needed food into your patient.
3 people like this
10 responses
@Humbug25 (12540)
•
16 Aug 08
Hi roshand8
Wow that is all very interesting. Have you yourself opperated on a butterfly? I would be afraid that I would hurt the poor thing more! I don't seem to have seen that many butterflies this summer probably because it is too cold, I live in England and it is true it rains a lot here!! The ones I have seen have been in good health, thankfully!!
@roshand8 (1478)
• Sri Lanka
16 Aug 08
Yes I have tried the tape trick several times and it works! They were not completely ok like before but they can fly.My garden is full of butterflies and also if I find caterpillars while I am gardening I put them in jars,they eat leaves and flowers constantly and when they turn into butterflies I let them fly away..I don't know what kind of butterflies they are but,most of them are yellow in colour.Be very gentle when you handle them 
Thank you for sharing.Help a butterfly when you see it injured.Have fun and cheers..
Thank you for sharing.Help a butterfly when you see it injured.Have fun and cheers..@roshand8 (1478)
• Sri Lanka
17 Aug 08
ooops! sorry for the very late response,yes they do form the chrysalis in the jar remember to put some leaves in the jar The chrysalis becomes completely transparent when a new butterfly inside.I release one or two butterflies almost everyday,you should get the caterpillars before the birds eat them.It is very fun enjoy this with your children.Cheers..
The chrysalis becomes completely transparent when a new butterfly inside.I release one or two butterflies almost everyday,you should get the caterpillars before the birds eat them.It is very fun enjoy this with your children.Cheers..
@kipluck (143)
• United States
18 Aug 08
EXCELLENT information!
Another way to help butterflies, well, Monarchs, particularly which are dwindling at present is to PLEASE not destroy all the milkweed. Yes, they can make animals sick if they eat them so keep them out of the way of your children and pets if they are plant nibblers, but they are actually quite lovely flowers if you have the space. We actually grow them in our garden for the Monarchs. We have 2 dogs, but we have a small garden fence and they never touch them. Tye them in with the tomatoes. People ask us, "what are those unique purple blooms?!" and are shocked to know they are weeds that we allow.
@ruby222 (4847)
•
17 Aug 08
In all honesty the butterflys wings are as fine as gossamer and I for one would be incredibly worried about trying to repair a wing lol,but there are some wonderful butterflys about at the moment.The buddhlia is home to some wonderful big red admirals ,we were watching them yesterday,and we were saying it would be good if you had a camera with a zoom lens and then you would have got an incredible photograph of them.I certainly would never harm a butterfly,or harm any other wildlife come to that,there are a joy to watch.
@roshand8 (1478)
• Sri Lanka
17 Aug 08
Yes it does..cool you even know their names,in my garden most of the butterflies are yellow in colour.I wonder what kind of butterflies they are 
Don't panic,handle them with confident, be very very gentle.Help a butterfly when you see it injured.Good day Have fun and cheers...
Don't panic,handle them with confident, be very very gentle.Help a butterfly when you see it injured.Good day Have fun and cheers...
@bmorehouse1 (1028)
• United States
17 Aug 08
Ver interesting information. I knew that they would drink sugar water. Gatorade also works. I did not know that you could repair their wings. Hope I don't have to put this info to work, but if I do now I will know how to do it!
@joyadalia (1408)
• Philippines
17 Aug 08
Wow, I didn't know that. There are few butterflies that go near our house but if I do see one with its wings broken I do not think that my fingers can nimble enough to men it :-(
You are a good person for helping the butterflies out though. KUDOS.
@lixiaos77 (1030)
• Shijiazhuang, China
17 Aug 08
I seldom see a butterfly because I live in a city with only a few parks. And the butterfly here is not big, their wings are no more than 3 cm wide. I wonder if I can tape its wing. But if I find a butterfly with broken wings, I will try to help the beautiful creature following your method.
God bless you.Have fun and cheers..
@checapricorn (16060)
• United States
16 Aug 08
Hi roshand,
[i]Thanks for sharing this tips..I have tried to see butterflies like that before but I have no idea how to help them!
This will help a lot if ever I will encounter situation like this again![/i]
@jonesy123 (3948)
• United States
16 Aug 08
Interesting. I never knew you could do that. I, too, was under the impression that if you touch the wings and get a lot of the powdery stuff off, you damage the wing and make it difficult to impossible. You learn something new every day;)
@polaris714 (607)
• Philippines
16 Aug 08
I had never thought it is possible to help a butterfly in distress. They seem so fragile that I thought if I tried to apply any kind of first aid I might do more damage than help. But thanks for the tip, I will keep it in mind when I see a butterfly in distress.
@roshand8 (1478)
• Sri Lanka
16 Aug 08
We must do all we can to help our tiny aviators because without them there are lot of plants that wouldn't get pollinated and die off without producing food and this makes our heart break too... Thank you for sharing polaris have fun,help a butterfly out and cheers...
have fun,help a butterfly out and cheers...
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
17 Aug 08
Wow roshand, what an informative article! I didn't know that
you could help a butterfly by doing those things. I would be
so scared that I would hurt it more. That is so great that
you were able to find out some much information. Have you
tired doing that? That's amazing! I am such a butterfly lover.
I hate to see one that is injured especially with a broken
wing. I am keeping this information in case I ever get the
chance to help a butterfly in need. I just hope that if I do
I can perform the tasks without causing anymore damage then
it already has. Thank you for being such a concerned butterfly
person!
@roshand8 (1478)
• Sri Lanka
17 Aug 08
Yea I have tried the tape trick several times and it works! please remember it should be a lightweight transparent tape.Be very gentle when you handle them.Thank you for sharing Opal Help a butterfly when you see it injured.Good day Have fun and cheers...
Help a butterfly when you see it injured.Good day Have fun and cheers...