Monarch Butterfly Flies Again After Delicate Wing Transplant

@sweetbriarnaturecenter/Instagram

At Sweetbriar Nature Center in Smithtown, NY a setting harmony of wildlife rehabilitators completed a rare yet delicate surgery: a wing implant of a Monarch Butterfly. The injured patient, a butterfly with a broken wing, was brought to the staff by a local woman named Dagmar Hoffdavis, who would not let it suffer.

With a steady hand, Janine Bendicksen, and her team of puzzle pieces, removed the broken wing and replaced it with a wing that was perfectly preserved from a dead Monarch Butterfly. The tools used to perform the wing implant were simple: contact glue, cornstarch, and a wire stand to hold the butterfly steady. The reason the butterfly did not feel pain during this process is due to its wing structure which is made of chitin and thin and contains no nerves or blood vessels.

After five steady hours of working, the butterfly was gently placed on a flower. Moments later, it lifted off flying and free just like everything was normal—nothing had happened. The team filmed this moment, and before they knew it, it had gone viral on Instagram for the whole world to marvel and celebrate!

In a small act of kindness, science, and action one fragile creature got a second chance at life, and reminded us all there is so much beauty in kindness.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPTkAW1DWC6