I just had this situation and it about killed me! I had a female that couldn't fly so I fed her well and let her go in the am,, put her on a nice cluster of flowers to let her enjoy a "normal" life. I found her on the lawn the next day, brought her in fed her again and let her go to let nature take its course. I found her two days later in the coils of the hose. It really was too late. But I thought I could feed her and just keep her in in the evenings and out during the day on plants inside some netting. She wouldn't eat and just got weaker and weaker. It was heartbreaking. She finally passed two days later and I buried her under the milkweed she was born on. Thank you for your videos and the inspiration. So far I've release 22 with 33 and 24 to go. I live in East Central Florida so this weekend I will be cutting my milkweed back to discourage any more eggs. I'm hoping to be confident enough next year to tag my "kids". Thank you for your videos I've learned so much.
Hello from another Monarch lover in Port Orange Fl. I now have one that fell during enclose and the wing is malformed. I am feeding him and hoping he at least lives a decent life.
@@fishingpinky3165l had one female with closed wings . l had her as a pet for 6 weeks . Feed her on a cotton ball in the house put it in a small lid. I made Willow a netting enclosure to wrap around milkweed out side so she could enjoy the flowers and walk around and be safe. I couldnt believe it sure started laying unfertalized eggs all over the plants. She was so happy. I did spend alot of time with her.Willow even went camping with us in our RV .😂 came home and lived her life a complete 6 weeks. I cried as she got weaker. She would turn her head and look at me as if to speak her gratefulness.
Oh goodness. That’s heart breaking. All of mine flew high and out of sight quickly except for one. I’ve noticed his wing isn’t right. It’s sort of bent I think. I put it back in the enclosure on some flowers and it’s hanging at the top of the cage I’m going to try again tomorrow
Awhhh man 🤧 I found one today that definitely had something wrong with its right wing and it’s quite obvious it’s having trouble flying .. I took it home to feed but it’s getting really cold here in Toronto Canada as it’s October now :( .. do you think I can make it a decent enclosure so that it can have a decent life until it passes?
There is an emotional side to this entire process... anticipation, hope, joy, wonder, and the sadness of letting them go, even when everything goes perfectly. Having the validation of some options can help people feel a lot less guilty when something unsavory needs to be done. Would love you to share more of that wonder and leave us with uplifting ideas, even on the difficult subjects. Thank you for guiding us through the dark side, so we don't have to do it alone. Now go inspire us some more and remind us why it is so worth the risk to raise something so fragile, yet so amazing. :)
@@MrLundScience what is the name of the primate glue that you used to hang the chrysalis and where do I get it? I ordered a natural one online but it's going to be 4 days before it comes in the mail and I just used Elmer's wood glue out of pure desperation and it's hanging pretty good I just hope that it doesn't toxify my chrysalis?
Rich, today I watched a monarch struggle to get out of the chrysalis. We sat there for an hour and a half not knowing it should only take 15 minutes and finally the butterfly had just a little bit left on one wing so I got a tweezers and pulled it off. The butterfly very weakly flooded its wings and after watching your video I gave up hope. As a last resortI took the butterfly and put her on a nectar plant and let her sit there. I went in the house To cry I kept checking on her. Approximately two hours later after checking on her every 10 minutes I looked out just in time to see her wings fluttering madly fully grown and watch her fly away. Thank you for your advice on Putting the butterfly on a nectar plant in this case it wasn’t to die, it was to nourish her until she had the strength and get the fluid in her wings to fly away
There is a 4th option. Many years ago, I had a male, Pete, who eclosed with one bent forewing - otherwise he was perfect. I kept him in an outdoor enclosure, fed him Gatorade and made sure he had fresh flowers. After work each day, I would take him out in the garden and put him on flowers. He lived for 5 weeks in this manner. It was sad, but I didn't know what else to do and - at that point - had never had to euthanize a butterfly. Much later, I discovered a video about REPLACING a butterfly wing, so when I found a dead monarch on my lawn, I kept it in my freezer. In time I had another with a bent wing and, following the directions in the video, I replaced it with one of my frozen wings. That butterfly flew! In fact, I used another monarch wing to replace a broken wing on a giant swallowtail that I'd raised. Those butterflies are NOT calm and laid back like monarchs - when they want to go, they'll beat themselves up. I first tried splinting the cracked wing, but the light cardboard splint was too heavy. So I cut a piece of monarch wing to fit the shape of the swallowtail wing, glued it and he flew off. A frankenfly that wouldn't look good to a mate to be sure, but he was able to go.
Thanks so much for making this video. Sadly, I am faced with this situation. I have raised and released 28 Monarch butterflies this season, which has been a great triumph for me! Yesterday morning I saw that two chrysalis were darkened and it was just a matter of time before 2 new butterflies emerged. Normally, they have been emerging early in the morning, but it's September in Kentucky (if that has anything to do with it) and my butterflies are coming out a little later in the day, like afternoons. So I had to run an errand and when I got back, both were out and one was hanging normally. The other, though, had the end of her abdomen still stuck inside the chrysalis and her wings were not looking normal. With a gentle touch, I disconnected her from the chrysalis and she seemed relieved and started walking around on the screen her chrysalis was attached to. The other butterfly soon flew away but this little girl, started her wing beats and I saw the problem. Her wings had been malformed as a result of her being stuck. She's eager to crawl onto my finger as I take her from flower to flower, and she spent the night on a Tithonia in my flower bed. Today I have taken her to the butterfly bush and she is eating well. I feel so guilty about not being here during her birth.. I even thought of building her new wings out of wings I've found in the past. But I am going with your second option. I will keep her outside on my flowers for as long as they hold out, but it is September and they are already fading. So much can happen during the raising of these beautiful creatures...but I think I will still do it again next year. A little older, and a little wiser all the time. Thank you again, Rich.
And thank YOU for doing what you can to help them. Any of the options are respectable, but that also means, when any option of these are chosen, I can only respect the person for making their decision. And another thank you given for considering them and deciding which you were most comfortable with. Each year teaches us the lessons needed to improve the next year. We just have to be willing to listen.
I have raised more than 300 butterflies this summer, just today when I come home from work and found two butterflies fall from hanging and broken their wings. I think it will be hard for them to make the trip to Mexico, so I might just take care of them as pets. It’s so hard to see them like this, because they meant to fly.
Found a monarch that is most definitely unable to fly in my backyard 4-5 hours ago now. I’ve been hanging out in the backyard with it, its full of energy, and more than happy to eat, but it has made absolutely no progress with flying more than an inch or two before summersaulting around in the air & death spiraling into a very painful to watch crash landing, every time. It had rained pretty heavily yesterday so when I found him struggling on my lawn I was hoping he just needed to try off, but it’s clear now that is not the case. Since I just happened upon it, I’m very ill prepared. This video popped up as one of the first results when searching for how to handle a flightless monarch on Bing. I’ve been trying my best to help the little guy out since 11:45am (ish) this morning with his energy being the only thing seeing improvement. Thank you for posting this, it’s relieving to know that there really is just only so much I can do & he isn’t just suffering due to my ignorance. I can finally take a breath.
I've been raising Monarch's for 7 years now and I've seen a lot! The good, bad and the really tough decisions. I had 1 Monarch that didn't form properly and was OE free. I decided to raise it and I fed it Hummingbird food for the 6 weeks it lived. It didn't seem to want to be free. It was as if it knew what I was doing to help it. It knew when I was going to feed it and it ate well. I believe most live 6 weeks or maybe more, but I felt good that I gave this One 6 weeks it wouldn't have otherwise had. Thank you for your videos. I always recommend them to new people raising Monarch's. I'm in San Diego California and the Tanchid fly is the worst enemy to the Monarch's! I wish We could figure out how to get rid of this pest! It kills so many!!!
Oh l did just that as well. I made a net enclosure for her to walk and enjoy milkweed outside and put it on with a close pin. Willow even layed eggs on MW.. That was a happy thing. 6 weeks she lived. Took her camping in the RV too. ❤ Such a gift right?
I needed this video. 2 days ago, a monarch emerged and her wings are very crumpled and she can't fly. Her Chyrsalis had fallen, I thought that maybe I caught it in time and unfortunately I did not. I feel responsible, but I wasn't home when she fell. Thank you Rich.
You're very welcome. We all go through it at some point if we are raising enough Monarchs. It's a shared experience, though I'm sure not many of us like talking about it. It's an uncomfortable topic. To be honest, I've gotten much more positive feedback on this than I thought. That's appreciated, for sure.
What sort of enclosure do you have the chrysalides in? If it's all mesh, then they should be able to climb back up the side if they fall. But if it's a plastic/glass aquarium then they have trouble climbing up the sides.
I honestly like a mix of option 1 and 2. I had one early this year that couldn’t fly, so I kept him in a cage but felt that hurt that he couldn’t be what he was. So I decided everyday for a few hours id let him out into the gardens. He seemed to really enjoy that.
I tried the same about 2 years ago with one who was nearing the end of her days. I found her in my yard with a torn wing and couldn't bare the thought of just leaving her there struggling. So I brought her in, I repaired the wing, I fed her and took her outside to the wildflowers several times a day and after about 4 days she really seemed like she wanted to be away from me, out in nature. For the first days, she didn't try to get away at all so it didn't feel wrong. But once she started trying to go, I started feeling guilty. So I said my goodbye, as did my cat.. He grew pretty attached to her lol.. And I took her out to the back field full of flowers. She flew, a little, and the next day I couldn't find her.
@@Liannabelle8 hello please may u tell me how u fixed the wing? I have a butterfly whos wing is completely damaged and mis-shapened and I really want to attempt to fix it! Please explain in detail and every step you did to help it. Also can butterflies that havent been fed well be too weak to fly? I took mine home from a nursery I work at as they were the last two that wouldnt fly off but all the others were fine and seems they havent been fed well so I've made some honey water nectar up for them on a sponge and they have drank some with their tongues. I've got two both cant fly but ones wings are fine (as much as I can tell) whilst the others wings are mis-shapened and broken and when they try and fly they both just flitter on their backs upside down trying to get back up... its very stressful and sad as I have so much empathy for all living things and do not at all want them to suffer I just want them to live their lives they were they are supposed too 😢. Please any advice would be much appreciated 🙏 ❤ thanks a bunch and anyone else whos got advice please let me know ASAP!
I've had some where they just needed some extra tlc. Fed them, gave them sunshine while protecting them from the neighborhood cats, and then they were able to fly away after a day or so.
I hope this is the case with mine...in the meantime I make sure I take her outside in the Breeze and sunshine and I feel her enclosure with flowers and nature
She did NOT ever fly...but she lived quite a bit longer than the last one I had that had a birth defect. Unfortunately, because I rescue caterpillars from the wild and try to keep them safe until they emerge from cocoon, near 50% of mine are born unable to fly or fuse there proboscis. But the ones that do live.... I feel like those are victories! :-)
I actually think it’s incredibly important to discuss this circumstance. After a period of time if one continues to raise monarchs, they will have to make this decision. Thank you so much for sharing.
Your videos have been a saving grace! Finding information on caring for injured monarchs is surprisingly hard to come by. We recently had a rescued chrysalis that had fallen, and was badly flattened on one side. The butterfly emerged with one set of wings curled to the side, and sadly cannot fly. We've made the choice to feed and caretake for her, thank you for sharing the knowledge for how to feed them!
Yes, I noticed this topic wasn't really out there at the time (and I guess, still isn't too much). I assumed it might be that it's a rough subject and not too many probably want to talk about it. I didn't really want to either. Still, it's better to be equipped with some options if the situation arises than to not. Glad you found it useful!
Since I found your channel 2 years ago, I've been on a mission to help the Monarch butterflies. I commented my 1st go around, when 2 of my hatchlings didn't hatch. You said they were sick. (Thank you for helping me). Last year I raised 2 with perfect success. Well this year I planted milkweed seeds I'd gathered last fall. They yielded about 10-15 large plants. I babied those plants all summer, but no eggs as of July 28th. We went on vacation for 2 weeks, and when we got home, behold 20 monarch caterpillars. All the same age; I'm assuming just 1 female took advantage of the garden I'd planted just for her. Five developed their chrysalis today and 6 are j-hanging tonight on the lattice I placed behind the Monarch garden. This is a very fulfilling project, and I can't wait to do it again. I couldn't have done it without your UA-cam channel. Thanks so much!
So cool to hear that! Sounds like a female did do an "egg dump" on your plants if they are all of the same developmental age, but, that's not certain of course. Either way, so glad to hear that it's been successful for you this year. You're off and rolling!
I cannot thank you enough for making this video. About a year ago I started a butterfly garden outside and a small one in my screen room. By the way I live in Florida. The middle of February I had approximately 60 caterpillars outside at one time. Luckily I was able to buy alot of milkweed to feed them all. However because I had so many a few of the butterflies have deformed wings or a front broken leg. I have been sad to put it mildly. After watching your video it helped to understand why it can happen and my options. I am feeding one, she's very calm and will sit on my finger. Unfortunately the 2 others are beyond help. Great news yesterday I released 23 monarchs.
Thank you for the guidance! The fact is, if you’re raising as many monarchs as I am. There’s no way around the fact there’s gonna be some problems and some very sad days. We chose to take in nature and we should al know nature can be very cruel as well as absolutely beautiful and a great learning process for our soul and life lessons. I’ve raised 100’s if monarchs over the last 5 years and please don’t take this the wrong way. It gets a tiny drop easier making decisions once you’ve experienced all that I have so far. I’m not as shocked going out in the morning and seeing a hanging down caterpillar partially alive, but in its way out. I refuse to allow the other insects to slowly eat it and it can spread what ever caused its sickness to all the other caterpillars unfortunately. I’ve also experienced deformed butterflies come out of perfect chrysalis’ . I’ve tried fixing their wings and it never works. I don’t have the experience or the tools for it. Every year I feel myself wanting to call it quits and pull all the milkweed out and never do this again, but somehow I push on and do it year after year and hope for the best. At least I’ve watched a few hundred monarchs fly away so far. It makes it worth the bad times to witness that. The best way to learn is through experience along with great videos like this one. It’s all about sharing our experiences to help each other help the monarchs as well as other pollinators. Good luck everyone!
I appreciate your video and found it after we found a wild monarch with a bent wing 😢 we are going to try option 1…thanks for this information…it was super helpful!
Thank You. I’m raising monarchs and the last batch had a few with wing problems. I’ve actually handled things the same way you describe. One died and the others were ok in a few days. I hand fed one of them constantly and let him just hang out on the flowers. They walked just fine and enjoyed walking the screens. They were enclosed in my patio. But still unable to Fly. Then one day when I brought it outside it took flight. I was cheering it on. It went pretty high then came back circling all over the garden and fluttering around my head as if she was saying thanks. I’ll never forget that butterfly
We found a chrysalis attached to a fuel can in our lawn mower shed and have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of our little friend. It eclosed sometime yesterday and still had curled wings when we discovered it, so we left it in the shed, not knowing how much longer it needed to rest. Today it was stuck in a cobweb and the wings were still curled up. :-( We appreciate this video, as it helped immensely with deciding to give the little fella (or lady) a chance to experience life. After bravely flutter-stepping around our driveway, it found some clovers to munch on. If 2020 has taught us anything so far, it's that you've got to live what life you have! Thanks again!
Thank you for making this video. Woke up this morning to a butterfly that had fallen while filling his wings and wasn't sure what to do. Very glad to see you have a video on the topic.
Your videos are fantastic and I am so grateful to have found them…. Especially grateful for your willingness to speak in a thoughtful manner about our special needs butterflies as well as the OE parasite problem and how to test for it. Thank you for having the courage knowing that your knowledge was needed! I have a weak and malformed female in my care now after finding her struggling outside. We have a microscope on order, but she is quarantined for the interim. I made the mistake of placing a too large ramekin with sugar water outside while she was still there only later to be horrified finding her drowning in it! A full 24 hours, few dunks and showers later, she seems happy enough in her box along w her watermelon and honey water cotton ball and of course milkweed to make her feel more at home. Tomorrow we’ll see how she does placed on flowers and pray she will let us know what she wants… continue w option #1 or find her own way via option #2. Deep bow of appreciation for your work and service. There is still hope in this wild world ❤️
This is my first year of raising Monarchs. I've released 15 so far. The 16th one just emerged this morning. He is our in my habitat drying his wings. I have one more chrysalis that I think will emerge tomorrow. I've watched so many of your videos and they have helped so much. THANK YOU! I live in SW Florida so our season is, as you know, longer. I've had a few that didn't make it for whatever reason. I was heart broken and didn't want to see them suffer, so thank you for the euthanizing video. I think the freezer is the best option, and a proper burial afterward. I also had one with a crumpled wing and after caring for it for a couple of days I took it to work and released it in our butterfly garden. (I work in a library that has a butterfly garden that is maintained by a volunteer gardening group. The local butterfly group comes and releases some butterflies there, occasionally) I felt it was the best place to feel free and have a food source that it could get to with its limited mobility. I do have a question. One of the butterflies I froze I felt may have had OE, she was badly deformed. Do you think the freezing helps to kill and prevent the spread of OE?
Hey Phillis. Sorry that there were a few that didn't do so well, but, it takes a thicker skin than some might think to raise these guys. Thank you for soldiering through it. It's much appreciated. Thank you for your care and concern. As for the euthanized butterfly that may have had OE, I wouldn't be too worried. The spores can survive cold temperatures. How cold, I'm not 100% sure on. Still, we must be careful that after euthanizing, we dispose of the body properly, and burial (followed by a hand washing) should do the trick just fine. OE spores are only a problem if they get to where a caterpillar will eat them. That would be either on milkweed leaves, or onto an adult that will either put them on milkweed leaves, or on another adult that will, such as in mating. So, burying them in the ground would pose no issues.
I don’t have enough words to express how much your videos have helped me and how much I have enjoyed raising monarchs. Today I have my first little guy that can’t fly and I am so heartbroken. Thank you for taking on this topic and presenting all the options in a compassionate rational way. Trying to figure out what went wrong but I have no idea. Heartbreaking.
It's sad when it happens, for sure, but it's better to happen with the knowledge of what you would do in such a situation. I had a male this year that had everything about him looking perfect. But, he'd flap his wings in erratic ways, and just couldn't fly. Everything was in tact, but no flight. If we raise Monarchs for enough summers, we'll see this from time to time. Never easy to see, but we'll see it nonetheless.
@@MrLundScience Soo, I tested for OE and he was clean, I kept him overnight because it was late and then in the morning I brought him a fresh flower he was eating like crazy. I had opted for putting him out in the garden as my solution so I took him out there put him on a flower in my butterfly garden and he took off and flew away!!
Yeah, when their wings look good, you gotta give them a few days to perhaps "figure it out", so to speak. This year's male, I described, never was able to get it under control. I'm pleased to hear that yours eventually took flight.
I have a monarch that emerged last weekend and did not have quite enough room to dry his wings properly. He surprised me by eclosing a day or so earlier than expected. He has both fore wings bent slightly. Otherwise healthy. I have decided to keep him and I place him out on a huge flowering bush with lots of other butterflies during the day. He is seemingly learning to fly short distances but comes in to a flower bouquet I have in my en suite bathroom for the night. I think this is a better option than just keeping in a box or whatever. It's a little of the one idea and a little of the other. I know a bird may eat him and nature may take it's course but he's hopefully getting some quality of life and I feel I am doing the best for him I can at present. I am considering cutting a small portion of the bent area off each of his wings to hopefully help him fly better. I have heard with 60% of wings they can still fly. Has anyone tried this?
I'm sure may have tried it, and I'm guessing with mixed success. Probably it's obvious, but it depends upon what 40% is missing. If it's just the tips of the fore wings, the logic is sound, and if I were in your position, I'd probably try it out.
Thank you so much for this video. I knew these would be the three options you would discuss but somehow listening to someone else discuss it helped me with this process.
Thank you for this video. We literally raised 100s of monarchs this summer with all the stay at home orders this year. Deciding what to do for the few that can't fly has been very hard. Sometimes I've raised them for weeks and sometimes I've put them outside (but geez the guilt of "giving up on them" was a lot). Your logic on option 2 is a very helpful way to look at it so thank you for that.
Thank you very much for all these Monarch Butterfly videos. While I've only had one butterfly emerge from a Chrysalis just fine this season, I now have the information on what I could do if future butterflies aren't as lucky. Keep up the great work, sir!
Have learned so much from your informative videos and love reading your thoughtful and empathetic responses to comments. You are a fine teacher! Sadly, my very first butterfly to eclose fell just after he had pumped fluid into the veins. Got him back on the chrysalis very quickly, but his lower right wing is slightly damaged and the upper right is a little misshapen. He is unable to fly aside from very short flutters, mostly down. I have decided on a combination of 1 and 2. I take him in at night and in rain and feed him some honey water, but put him outside on flowers in my garden when it is sunny and warm during the day. I am hoping that he is enjoying his time out in nature. If he teaches a bird a good lesson about eating monarchs, so be it. Happily, I have 10 more chrysalides and one last instar 5 cat, and I'm hoping they will all do better.
Yeah, there's no easy choice with these options. But, you gotta do what you feel most comfortable with, and at least take solace in knowing that whichever option you prefer, there is an amount of logic to it.
Thanks so much for this informative and thoughtful video. Was upset to have found a Monarch on the grass with deformed wing. Will opt for second choice.
As have I. That's still something I want to explore, but when I've seen others do it, I haven't seen them talk about or test out how lasting the methods are. I want to try and find a way that I can provide information on how durable the repair is, since there's different ways of doing it. Thus, we could say it's still in the "R&D" stage for me.
A few thoughts about wing or partial wing replacement: you have to be willing to remove and store wings from deceased Monarchs ahead of time, to be prepared for such an event. That means you will probably get them from recent dead or euthanized in freezer Bflies that had no quality of Bfly life - like, deformed in parts, or wing movement too weakened by unknown causes to allow the Bfly to function in any reasonable life, etc. Then, consider the recipient Bfly. My personal guideline is when I have a robust Bfly, who otherwise seems healthy, really seems to try persistently to fly, and has a wing damaged or deformed that can be a straight forward swap with a normal replacement part, then, the procedure is worth it because it will have a very high potential to be successful. You have to study up on how to do this and have the tools recommended and plan it out thoroughly. I have to say that each time I’ve done this, when the robust butterfly all of a sudden has a balanced body/wings and then after drying (glue) and resting, he takes off - up, up and away - it is really a joyful moment. My mind always pictures the little Bfly exclaiming to himself and the world “Uh, oh, Wow ! I don’t know what happened but now I’m whole and I can FLY !!!”.
This happened to me four different times. I placed mine in the garden with flowers but it still made me sad but it is nature and it is a process if we try to help Monarchs continue to multiply and survive. Thanks Rich for the information
You're welcome. If we raise Monarchs, eventually we encounter this. While it's not "pleasant" information, its information we might need from time to time to consider. Thanks for checking it out.
Thank you for posting this. I just experienced my first flightless Monarch. Perfectly formed wings, but something must have gone wrong somewhere. I have decided to put him in my large lantana and let him feed and experience the nature he is so eager to be in. I want his purpose to be an "educational" experience for a young bird so as to protect the healthy Monarchs. Every living creature needs to have a purpose. :)
I was given a caterpillar that was a few weeks old by a friend who's a "master gardener" and this caterpillar was kept in a container on a leaf and the leaf was kept in a vial to keep the leaf moist and the vial was kept in a glass jar. Everything was going fine until one day, a family member accidentally knocked the container on the ground. The glass jar squished the poor thing. I was heart broke. 😭 I was just a beginner and that was my first caterpillar so I did not know that the jar posed a threat to my caterpillar so I learned alot from that experience. I admire your work and your channel so much that you have inspired me to grow milkweed in my backyard and try to raise caterpillars again.😊
I'm happy to hear that you're still at it. We're all human, capable of making mistakes. Continuing on, you'll save more Monarchs and be helping them in the long run. When tragedy happens, learning from it can make it a good thing in retrospect. In life in general, I've had to make some major mistakes to gain some wisdom. Mistakes are like life's version of sore muscles. Have to go through that soreness to increase your strength.
We have a bunch of cocoons in our patio. Today we noticed a butterfly on its back on the floor. We think he had fallen off of its chrysalis while it was pumping fluid. We kept flipping it over onto its feet but I thinks it’s wings were injured. Glad we found this video bc we wanted to help it. We ended up putting the butter fly on a flower so it could enjoy nature while it can.
Thank you so very much for putting this video together. Within a month of having our first monarch caterpillar we have found ourselves in this situation. It's heartbreaking. Because you bravely decided to discuss the hard topic I have the information I needed. For what it's worth, your option 2 was the one that I had selected on my own but I was starting to second guess my decision. It's heartbreaking to see her hanging on the top of a milkweed flower but she does not seem to be in distress at all (aside from the obvious). I was starting to consider option 1 but honestly I think I would just end up making it worse for her and us. Seriously, thank you. Your video really helped with the emotions. On a happier note, our milkweed (three different species) are absolutely full of caterpillars and I can find chrysalids easily pretty much everywhere in our yard. One of our swamp milkweed plants (A. Incarnata) was literally eaten to the ground with only half a leaf remaining at the bottom of a naked stem. A few days later it had new growth all over it.
Thank you for your honest and informational video. I was given a caterpillar and raised it as a class pet. We were very happy today as we witnessed the butterflying emerging from its chrysalis. However, both of his front wings are curled. I have been researching on what to do and came across your video. I am thinking about taking it home to nurse it.
So VERY lovely to see a man with such compassion. I work in Dog Rescue, am familiar with Dog Rescues (and those who pledge, share, foster, transport, advocate) all over the country. Very few involved are men. HOWEVER let me say, when there is a disaster (flood/tornado) or something, we certainly do see men coming out to help. Just wish they helped as much with the daily DOG-overpopulation issues. Millions are euthanized ever year in kill shelters. ADOPT, don't $hop.
I appreciate your help! Your video was very helpful for the monarch my students found. I'm going with option #2 and plan to use this life lesson as part of our natural selection and life cycle units. Thank you for the helpful information.
What an awesome awesome video. Thank you so much for presenting this. This is my 2nd year with Monarchs, and today was just a bad day. After dozens of happy releases, I had two to euthanize, and for the first time, a failure to fly. Beautifully formed, good wing action, but he cannot stay airborne. I watched your video...felt hugely not so alone...so I'll feed this boy and see how he is in the morning. Maybe with food, rest and some bench presses, he'll be ready to fly. Otherwise, sadly, he's a candidate for option 2. He wants out, one way or another.. . Thanks again.
Give them at least a week of TLC before giving up on them. I found that sometimes it takes that long. Sometimes they have a slightly swollen belly, and I don't know what it is, but it resolves in a few days and suddenly they feel well and they can fly. Sometimes I think the failure to stay airborne is that they don't feel well and they're not flapping their wings fast enough. When they feel well, they get full of energy and they can fly away. Also, I found that many monarchs with a split proboscis, after feeding them pure liquid for a few days, will sometimes fuse them days later. Again, I think they don't feel well and after they start to feel better, they do what they need to survive. I've been able to release some that came out with a split proboscis after several days.
I've had a monarch do a similar thing that you said and fell while eclosing. Same thing happened, crumpled wings. I decided to do the natural thing and put him on some flowers, but when I went to go check on him again he was covered in ants. I felt terrible LOL. I am taking care of an Eastern Black Swallowtail that eclosed way late as I write this and she is almost a month old. I'm enjoying it. She is not a burden
Very informative video. One of ours has a deformed wing. :( We'll take the nature approach and let him enjoy his days out in nature where it should be. Thank you for sharing this!
Thank you so much for sharing this insight and covering the pros and cons. We kept our girl Matilda and she is now a week old and seems to be doing well!
Thank you!! I am new to raising monarchs. I have released 66 healthy ones since March. I've had a butterfly garden for decades. I moved to SW Florida 7 years ago and have really gotten into milkweed. I love having them all around the garden and have even watched them from just a couple feet away lay eggs on the milkweed outside. How fun!!! :) I have had a few not so healthy and today had one that dropped as it was hatching and is not formed at all. I thought for sure it was not alive and was so sad when I touched him and he moved. His 2 front legs do not work correctly. Although he's able to move around a bit with his back 2. His wings are not formed at all but you can see he's/she's trying to move them. The body looks disfigured. I am not sure if its stamen is working correctly. It doesn't seem to be moving that well. I've placed him on a large fully bloomed penta and have provided a cap of water and a small orange slice. In the flower. I was going to put him outside. I agree....this is how it would have been in nature. I don't want to put him in the freezer although my friend suggested that and I hate to see him suffer. So, I am going with letting him die naturally with dignity. Humanizing the monarch. hahah. I have a living will. I just hope he isn't in pain. My views may change in the future but for today he's sitting quietly on the penta. Your video was a tremendous help!! Great Work!! :) Thank You!! :)
Glad you have discussed all three options. It’s sad to see their wings broken and can’t fly like other healthy ones. Thank you for this marvelous video.
Thank you, I appreciate the time you took to share these options. I have raised several different butterflies, most successful some not and its never easy when its not. These videos are always helpful for those learning along the way. Regardless easy or not. I just found a monarch that can't fly properly so I will attempt to care for it and see what happens but I will also bring it outside from time to time especially since it has already experienced living outside. We'll see what happens from there. Thanks again for sharing all your monarch videos.
Thanks. It's the tough situations we don't like to talk about, and thus, probably the tough ones that need to be addressed from time to time. Appreciate you taking care of those that have a struggle.
I am having this issue now with a butterfly. I released 4 butterflies today, and noticed one was struggling a little. It managed to fly, but was flying low to the ground and kept on stopping on the fence, the car, the side of the house. I left the butterfly alone thinking it will just take this one a little longer. Tonight my husband and I come home and the monarch is waiting for us on our front door. We tried to get it to fly, but poor thing just couldn't fly right. Opened our door, butterfly flew in and landed in our turtle tank. I immediately fished it out of the water, and I have the butterfly back in our indoor enclosure for tonight. Haven't figured out what I'm going to do yet. I am at home for the next month recovering from knee surgery, so I do have some extra time on my hands.
Wait another day, try a few more times, if nothing improves than it's probably too late😭 You are the most recent comment, so i also have a question, if it's ok with you? I have a beautiful monarch, and he is not able to fly. It almost seems like his wings are paralyzed. other than that, he seems fine, but his wings are stuck open I'm not sure what 2 do...
I have raised monarch since I was a little kid and it has always been so fun! I have done it quite a few times, and I have had many different kinds of experiences with it. One of my latest experiences which is one of the sadder ones was when my caterpillars erupted with parasitic wasp worms, I was very sad after this, but again I still tried to keep them alive a second time and it was working for a while until they turned into cocoons, then after about half of them flew away we were stuck with three who all had bad wings or curved wings, we tried to help a few by letting them in the sun and in the wind and two of them flew off, one of them we still have who is just staying in our yard we didn’t want to take it back in an enclosure, so I did a mix of the two first options, I have it in a bush now, and it *could* get eaten, if it does, than that’s nature. But it is safe, with food.
Thank you so much for making this video. It is really valuable information and you raise some points that people may have never considered. The' lesson for predators" argument is one I had never considered. I have always kept and cared for my disabled monarchs, even if they are sick...but I don't keep them in cages. I have flower plants available and supplement them with homemade nectar. One thing I want to point out: you do NOT have to feed them multiple times a day. As long as their abdomen gets plump after they eat and they eat til they go potty, they are full. A typical feed should take several minutes when handfeeding. Monitor the butterfly's belly for signs of thinning and darker waste means they are more dehydrated. You can even save split proboscis monarchs if you provide a nectar reservoir! If you do this, you can get away with every other day if needed....so people with jobs can feed am or pm, or both if they want to, but the monarch will not suffer going 8 hours without food. Consider how much non-nectar-plant land they fly over. In Nature, sometimes they go days with nothing to eat.
All true. I suppose "need" (if I used that word) is too strong of a word. I feed them when they are hungry, it would seem, and try to keep it similar to nature, but certainly there are those rainy days they experience out there where they may not get any food for a day or two. Glad to see you again on here!
Thank you for the information. You did the right thing talking about this. I think 2 is the best option because this is what would be if the butterfly was born outside but I would probably opt for 3 for my own selfish reasons. Thank you for helping us help the monarchs.
Interesting video! I too had to make these tough decisions from time to time. But only a handful of times I had the unique opportunity of letting deformed monarch butterflies serve their purpose. A couple of times during 'hatching phase' a male and female hatched with wing deformities. I kept em together and a couple of hours later they began mating. I guess they decided to skip the mating rituals and went for it. I kept them fed and safe while they were attached. When they detached I put the female on a potted milkweed plant and she had laid almost all of her eggs on that one milkweed plant. The male monarch I put him outside on top of a flower and let nature take its course. Days later I found the female monarch dead laying on top of the soil of the potted milkweed. We can always try to find a solution for a good ending.
Thank you so much, I really appreciate this video which I found after googling what to do when a monarch can't fly, a situation I am facing with a heavy heart. I do not raise monarchs indoors but I provide a natural habitat for them by growing milkweed and putting up a structure for them to form a chrysalis on. I usually only get a couple every year as my milkweed patch is still quite small, but this year I had 16 successfully form a chrysalis! Sadly, of these I had 2 that never hatched and 3 monarchs emerged with wing deformities that resulted in them not being able to fly. It baffles me as the chrysalides were undisturbed, and seeing the monarchs unable to fly has been so heartbreaking and distressing. I wanted to know what the options were, if perhaps there was some way I could help them. Hearing these three options, I will go with #2: placing them gently among the flowers in my yard, to play their role in nature. Thank you so much for covering this very difficult situation, your compassionate approach combined with the logical presentation of the options has helped immensely.
So glad to find your channel, am subscribed now. Found a monarch today in the wild that appears unable to fly and even a bit uneasy on feet/legs. Wings look great, with my limited experience anyway. Put it on some thawed frozen banana and milkweed, drank heartily and immediately. Storm is in progress so I tucked it in the greenhouse with echinacea where it can be dry and protected to just... wait and see? If it is newly emerged might it just take some time?
If the wings look relatively in tact and not damaged, sometimes, yes, Monarchs that don't seem able to fly can eventually figure it out. From my experience, it usually only takes a day, though, when this happens. I would suppose that multiple days could be a possibility. If you are comfortable caring for it and seeing if in a few days it's starts flying, that would be probably the optimal option. If it never ends up flying, though, you'll have to make a decision as to one of the options in this video (or perhaps other options that exist if you find one you prefer). I wish the lil' guy/gal luck!
MrLundScience Thank you thank you thank you 🙏🏼 It is with tears of joy and gratitude that I can report: It took to flight yesterday mid morning after a safe night amidst the carrot tops in the greenhouse. I heard flapping, ferocious flapping against the side, but not much height. Offered it the honey solution and when I pulled back to keep the feet out it popped up onto my shoulder! You have encouraged me and helped us both. Grace to you, this lil one (m or f, I have no clue, haha) is in the wild now!
Thank you for all the infomation you shared. We successfully raised (from 4th and 5th instar), tagged, and released 24 monarchs this year with no issues. A couple days ago, the kids were playing outside and found a forlorn looking monarch in the grass with multiple holes in all 4 wing sections, some of them quite large. Other spots of the wings were friable (visibly, they looked grey and papery, almost like they had been burned). We brought him inside, checked him for OE, then attempted a repair with parts of another monarch wing that my daughter had in her "nature collection." We didn't have enough material to cover all the holes, but we covered the largest ones. The butterfly was apparently starving, and drank nectar (honey water from the end of a soft paintbrush) multiple times over the next hour. We let him rest overnight, and attempted to release him today. Unfortutately, while he could fly okay, he couldn't seem to get any height, and kept fluttering back to the ground. So he's back with us, and since he seems relaxed and eager/easy to feed, I suppose we'll keep him.
Yes number one was for me ! I made a little next with plants from a laundry hamper. It's their retirement home lol 2 out of 10 were deform and couldn't fly .. After Listening to the whole video I feel like I want to let them out .. it's their life 😩
You are Awesome! Thankyou for your professional guidance. You are like the Guardian Angel for these beautiful beings. I’ve just subscribed to your excellent channel. Thanks again! ❤️
Hey, thanks! But remember, I'm not a professional when it comes to Monarchs. (High School Chemistry teacher? Yes, professional.) With the Monarchs, I'm an amateur, but perhaps a seasoned one. We all can be, if we stick at it. Welcome aboard!
I had a butterfly that had one set of the wings all messed up but after a few days of feeding it and caring for it he was able to fly so I released him
I find myself in the sad position of contemplating these options. I have an adult who hatched missing the right antennae, a lame right front leg, and right main wing that came out of the chrysalis like a thin, wet noodle. I removed the wing and right foreleg as the leg would drag around, impeding the use of the proboscis. I find the whole experience very emotional as +Wildflower mentioned. Thanks so much for the video. You've presented some arguments for different options I had not considered. This helped make my decision much easier to make. Thanks again !!
Very sorry this happened, but I'm pleased that you found new ways of looking at the options and came to an informed choice. That was, in the end, the goal of the video, and while it's an uncomfortable situation, hopefully it was somewhat less uncomfortable than it would have been otherwise.
Thank you so much for your videos. We are new to the world of monarchs and have a female who eclosed and looks normal but can't fly. I put her in our new 10'x10'x7' enclosure where she has a ton of different plants and trees to explore. My wife made a 4 to 1 sugar solution for her and we will care for her until she can fly or passes. Thanks again for all your help.
I was thinking about what you were saying about options and possibly I have another there are conservation projects you could donate a butterfly to such as Niagara Falls and they look after them house them and such and they can be used as a ambassador and that way you are also giving them a chance as well and they will be around lots of other butterfly’s... and educate others as well..
If there is such a local area that would take it in, that's certainly an option. However, from what I understand of butterfly houses (which, admittedly, may be different than what you are describing) they are not very open to taking in foreign butterflies, as they may be carrying disease or other infectious pathogens that could spread to the others they already have and maintain. And offering them up one that has a deformity or other problems likely wouldn't boost their confidence that it doesn't have something going on with it. No harm in asking, though, I suppose.
Thank you for this information. I found a beautiful butterfly with a missing wing. My heart broke, so I brought it home. I looked up a few things and thankfully I came across your video.
I’ve raised all the adult butterflies that couldn’t fly, hand fed them and sometimes I took them out to educate people about monarchs. It’s like any other animals who need help, I chose not to euthanize unless they won’t eat or badly hurt by a cat or what ever. I also let them hang out on curtains facing a window or place them in my outdoor butterfly room. They need to feel free. Usually towards the end I may put them on a nice fresh flower and peacefully let nature take its course. They usually disappear or I find the dead body later on after some time. It’s sad but, you have to remember that you’ll have more soon. P.s. They respond to your affection when you talk to them.
You're for sure welcome. I'm glad it's being received well. Some don't wish to discuss these parts of it, so it's been an elephant in the room for a while now. I'd rather talk about it and have some discussion than ignore something we all might go through.
Last year we had one with a bad wing. It could fly but for only short distances. We decided to let nature take it's course and let it go. As you mentioned, at least it got to experience nature. It does break your heart to see that but it breaks my heart to be driving down the road and see one fly smack into the car in front of me. You can't save everything. I have learned so much from your videos, thank you for the time and effort you have put into them. As I indicated to you before in a previous comment, the Hudson Valley in NYS has had a late start with the Monarchs. My first cat turned into chrysalis today. So far I am I nave collected over 40 eggs, woohoo!
Hey, great to hear that despite it being a late start, you've found plenty to keep yourself busy with! Thanks for updating me on that. It was definitely on my mind.
Last year, I had one fall shortly after eclosing, resulting in a bent wing. The next day, if I tossed her into the air, she would quickly flutter to the floor (indoor) or the ground (outdoor). I kept her inside for another day. That day, when I released her, she flew up, into a tree. I'm not sure she could fly straight. I've often wondered if I did the right thing. This video helps me feel better about having released her.
Thank you, I am in the situation to make one of those options. I leaning to keeping it alive, but taking outside to experience the outdoors. This is a hard situation.
Thank you!!! I bet this was a tough video to make, but it is necessary for those of us whom are trying to correctly raise Monarchs. I was thankful to hear all the pros and cons of the different options. WHEN (not IF) that time comes, I'll be ready to make a choice. Thank you for all the information in all of your videos. You're the one I check with first when wanting to learn more about helping raise Monarchs.
@@MrLundScience Welp, one of my chrysalides was not looking right, so that's why I watched this video to begin with. It is as if the chrysalis didn't form all the way. However, it formed enough that there was a very thin layer over half the butterfly. If I looked close enough, I could see her breathing. (I have pictures of the chrysalis in case you're interested.) The caterpillar had only one antenna before making the chrysalis, so I don't know what happened. Anyway, the butterfly looks normal except that she has one antenna and cannot fly. I thought I would choose Option 2 only, but when she was still on the hasn't- bloomed-yet butterfly bush as it was raining and getting dark last night, I put her in a cage and made sure she drank some honey water. I suppose I'll make sure she is fed and safe for now. Then when the weather is nice in a few days, I plan on putting her back outside close to something flowering. So, I may be switching back in forth between Options 1 and 2. If after she had eclosed, she had been extremely deformed, I would have chosen Option 3. I've learned the options are on a case-by-case basis. Thank you again for your advice!
As many others have said before me, thank you for this video. It has been a helpful resource for me, having raised monarchs for the first time this spring. I successfully released 58 healthy butterflies but one became stuck in its chrysalis and its wings did not have a chance to expand (it died after 1 day), and another's chrysalis fell and was damaged. That one emerged with crumpled wings and unable to fly. I fed it honey water twice a day, gave it as much outdoor time as possible, and kept it in a butterfly enclosure in my home at night. It was very strong-willed and tried its best to fly every day. I hope I gave it the best life possible but it is hard to know what's right. Sadly, it died yesterday after exactly three weeks of life. I had become used to having the little critter around :( but it was heartbreaking to see it struggle and not be able to live a natural butterfly life. Thanks again for this video, which is a great resource for anyone encountering this situation. Best wishes from Miami, Florida.
I found comfort in your comments. I too had a "strong-willed" butterfly with damaged wings. I did not want her to become fodder for the numerous Brown Anole lizards that are ubiquitous in Hawaii gardens. So I kept her in an enclosure and fed her honey water, 2-3 times a day. She lasted 4 weeks. The last day, she was too weak to extend her probocis on her own. I helped extend it and she took her last meal. I felt it was time to euthanize. I placed her on a bed of flowers and then into the freezer. I buried her in a crown flower leaf coffin yesterday. With tears running down my face, I sent her off to butterfly heaven.
Thank you so much for this video. I have a baby with deformed wings and didn't know what to do. This is so heartbreaking and I think I will leave them outside in the future and just continue to plant lots of milkweed😭😭😭😭😭
Thank you for this video. I stopped bringing my eggs in because I had one that wouldn’t fly and wouldn’t eat and after a few days I had to make a decision. So, I’m so thankful to hear your reasoning and rationales. And you handled the discussion very sensitivity. I still have a TON of milkweed and if the lizards are bad I will bring in eggs, but I’ve decided to be more hands off in my monarch support. But right now I have one that eclosed and can’t fly. I found him flopping around in the grass. So that was what led me to your video. I like how you explained that even though he can’t fly he still has a purpose for his little life in possibly teaching the birds not to eat things that look like him! I believe there is a purpose for all things. We just don’t always have the privilege of knowing that purpose. Your explanation of “option 2” makes a lot of sense to me. Thank you again for the video.
I'm glad that you were able to consider the options and find one that you were most comfortable with. It's like having to choose the lesser of bad options for a bad situation. Your compassion for the animal is definitely appreciated!
Thank you!!! You have helped me reason out the choice for a situation just like this. All are sensible to my mind and I've selected the one that resonates most with my outlook. Many thanks!
Wow!! Thank you so much for this I’ve been kinda new at this whole thing ..first it was the wasps and maybe flies..attacking the caterpillars...then I had 2 fully develop and born and launched into the world ...well this morning our newest beauty not only has a much smaller wing but a front leg that seems damaged ...I’m sooo sad Thanks for doing these videos and all the work you do. At this point not sure what I’ll do w this latest beauty 😭
I’m so sorry 😐. My first season too! Released two beauties and my next 9 may have had one cool night I didn’t bring inside! They have some black spots:(
Hi, it’s not easy, and I was so sorry to read how you both had to experience this. I have been there twice myself, and now facing this possibly for a third time, which is why I returned to this video today. But note that it is only three times in 3 seasons- (3 years and with over about 250+ healthy ones released)- that a MB emerged and ultimately was unable to fly, each w/ different circumstances, all 3 leaving me with tough decisions to make. Again all with different answers. It ultimately of course is up to you, like me, to decide. I could not have done it without Mr. R. Lund. I get it. It was so bad, and I actually wasn’t sure if I could go through the chance of having to lose one again, partially blaming myself, but uncertain, though I know that we do the best we can as long as we are constantly improving and learning about techniques wild-rearing these beauties. It’s not like we just jump into this without some good basic knowledge.I keep in mind that only 5% - maybe between 5-10% tops- of them in the wild even survive to become adult butterflies. Once in this past early spring I spotted the 1st mother Monarch Butterfly gliding among the garden’s tiny, newly sprouting Common Milkweed, and was stunned to see her stopping on each leaf and plant, carefully laying new shimmering eggs! I was very excited, and that was it, I began anew. I have kept data on the numbers of so many healthy MBs that I have released this season, but honestly I have been too busy to tally how many; I know it’s more than ever before and it kept me busy but I kept up fine, especially since I have been sequestered and focused at home these past months, which is why I decided to go for it. This this weekend I am hopefully releasing the last very 3 or 4 adult MB from the last group of close to 100. Be sure btw to see his videos about how to feed a MB that cannot fly, and the another around euthanasia. He never tells anyone what they should or should not do, but offers information to better enable others to decide what to do. This is what I think I admire most about him. OK now- I cannot answer for him, to whom I give so much credit for helping with outstanding videos and sense of compassion, but I noticed that he does sometimes try to check in and answer questions; also you may see his more recent activity by scanning through some of his other videos including the more recent one 2019 about wild-rearing MBs outdoors. You may want to follow him on his Instagram account, too. He did note in one of his UA-cam videos that he hadn’t been here as much as he would truly like to - 2020- since the pandemic of course greatly impacted him, his work at school, and his students, meaning spending lots of needed important time on that work. Best to you, stay safe, he would surely say thank you for doing what you can do, plant milkweed, and stay tuned!
Oh btw, i currently have 30 chrysalis that are almost completely emerged with healthy butterflies and only 1 fell. So glad i didn't have another run in with OE this time.
Wow...thanks for that. I always feel like I'm long winded. I go into many details, though, as I want to try and be thorough, and troubleshoot questions that might come up by answering them ahead of time. I write a script or list of the points I want to bring up, and then try to think of what questions might arise because of the topic and cover that as well. So, thank you for that feedback. At times, I've thought about reducing the amount of information, but usually side against it. Try to flesh out most of the topic the first time in the video so there's less of a need for those points to be brought up in future ones.
This video helps me to take care of Monarch butterfly chrysalis and butterflies very much. We had 6 caterpillars this spring, and we found 3 chrysalis in our backyard. One hatched and flew away. There is one which does not make any progress of darkening its color. It's been more than a week. We'll keep watching it.
I don’t raise monarch’s. I wanted to but wasn’t able to buy the materials before time was up this year. Then I found a monarch with crumpled wings and part of his leg missing. I was in total shock, I had my young puppy with me on a leash so coaxing the monarch onto my finger while keeping a curious 3 month old puppy away was quite the task. It was actually out at an event, an I was letting my puppy potty quickly when I found the poor butterfly. I hadn’t noticed his leg yet and assumed it was newly hatched so after getting it on my finger (and it jumping off multiple times) I left it on a brick wall to pump its wings full of fluid and returned back to my family with our puppy. I had a strong urge to check on the butterfly before we where due to head home though so I made the excuse of taking the puppy to potty again and returned to where I left the monarch. It had only been like 15-20 minutes since I left it there so when I saw it was not there I immediately began searching in the grass again where I had found it the first time. Sure enough the poor monarch had fallen again and was seemingly trying to climb back up the brick wall. I made the decision to take it with me, Still thinking it was newly hatched and it would surely be ready to fly in a days time before the warm front left and we returned to regular cold October weather. I have no clue how this one hatched so late in the year or how it survived the cold front we just had (temps where in the 20s just days before the 70 degree day I found him in). On the way home I determined it was male. Discovered his leg and made the connection to why he couldn’t hold on to the wall. He held onto my chest for the entire ride home and seemed pretty happy there before he didn’t try to climb away or jump off. I’ve had him for 2 days now. He seems to feel comfortable being on my finger and still tries to flutter his wings but they are so folded he can’t barely get any lift. He seems to really only be able to hold onto a wire screen that I had leftover from replacing our screen door, I just made sure it’s not sharp for him. I tried some sticks but he seemed very uncomfortable with that.
I was given a monarch butterfly by my botany teacher today. His name is Nemo, and he can't fly, he only has three legs, and one of them are bent and curled in a weird way. He also doesn't have any antenna. His wings are fine, but his balance is all off, he can flap around but he gets nowhere off the ground. I'm just gonna keep feeding him and see how far he goes
This helped me make my decision to set a monarch that seems weak/unable to take flight free. I've tried to give her nectar, and keep her safe. She's just too weak.
Our first monarch ever came out of the chrysalis this morning and we thought she flew away but sadly found her a few hours later on the ground with warped and kinda crumpled wings... so sad! Our daughter has been checking them daily and I don't have the heart to tell her she probably will never fly. :(
So far this summer I have raised over 200 monarchs. I have been raising them for 4 years. The more I raise the more I learn. A deformed monarch emerged 2 days ago , her left side wings did not fully extend. Her pupa fell and was flat on one side....I found it a few hours later. I hung it up to give it a chance to emerge. I consider your 3 options and decided to release her on a flower the next day. I had to explain to her the three options; be an unhappy pet (that wont work for me), release or euthanize her. I chose a fourth option and explained as she sat on my hand an listened. I cut away the deformed portion of the upper wing and glued the new section over the 'stump'. If she didn't fly I would still release her. I fed her honey water( thank you for that video) and let her rest and she began testing her wings. Ten minutes later she flew a short distance in my dining room. Tomorrow I will place her on a neighbor's flower so I won't be tempted to keep checking on her. As I release my butterflies I tell each Vaya con Díos. If the transplant wasn't successful I got the wing repair practice. I used the directions from the Live Monarch Foundation video.
It's definitely clear that you did all you could for her and cared for her very much. I'm likely to be working on wing transplants either at the end of this season, or the start of the next one. I had a Monarch that I think must have been bitten by a spider. She looks completely healthy, but was on the ground and only twitching an antenna when I returned home from getting the groceries. They hadn't fully dried yet, or I would have released them. During the time of running errands, the wings dried, and something happened. Not sure 100% what, but all signs point to a spider bite. It's unfortunate, but perhaps her wings will be able to help a future Monarch that otherwise would have been flightless.
I placed her on New York Ironweed and walked away. Later I found her a short distance away still flying short distances always falling to the ground. I was hoping as she exercised her wings the flight distances would increase. I took her in and will euthanize her tonight. I tried and I am alright with euthanizing her. One positive note is that I am now comfortable with doing wing transplants in the future. I keep the butterflies in a pop up laundry mesh bag indoors until they are released. Do you keep yours on the porch (per your videos) and that maybe how it got the spider bite? Speaking of bites, a pupa formed and a larva in J form was next to it, arched up and bit the pupa. The pupa was leaking green fluid it emerged as a butterfly. Do you ever have any pupas that leak black fluid?
Sorry to hear that it was not able to fly very far. Some have gone with Option #2 only to feel that after an experience like the one you have had, they would prefer Option #3. Again, all three of the options, I think, are respectable (or I wouldn't have put them in the video). Black dried fluid is indeed an indicator of a puncture in the chrysalis. This is another reason I try to relocate the chrysalides once they have formed, to prevent other caterpillars from trying to taste them. The fluid is green inside, but seems to dry to black. However, some fluid can be lost, and if early on, the Monarch might be smaller than it would have been without losing the fluid, but if not too much is lost, can still emerge healthy.
Thanks for your informative videos and your personal replies to me. This is just a thought that the black drops could be liquid fras that was expelled after the fact. Most of the larvae I observed before they go into the J shape make one last 'nerdle of perd' (LOL) before succumbing to the J shape. Tomorrow I am expecting 25 butterflies to emerge.
Thank you for the video. First time with a proper milkweed area in our small garden and thus any significant monarchs, and when we encountered our issue, I found your video. We are in the Northeast- VA area, so it is getting rather chilly. We have a monarch that seemed to not have problems as caterpillar or with the chrysalis, but the hatched butterfly is not flying (couple of days now). At one point it seemed to have been able to get from one patch of flowers to a tall sunflower, but it only happened a couple of times- and I found it the next day fallen off the sunflower and in a pot underneath. I even thought at first that it may be dead, but she seemed to perk up when I got her out. She ate some sugar water,, and i left her to sit in the sun for a while with some flowers and sugar water as options. As there was no change and it was not cold but certainly chilly, I finally brought her in to see if a warm space would help for a bit. She hung on the netting upside down for a while- and throught the night. I had placed some food, but did not see her eat. Next day she was eating some of the sugar water and even tested out a raspberry, but was crawling almost sideways and somewhat limping and dragging herself around. The wings seem fine, but she leans to the side, doesn't really open them, and seems almost as if she is bottom heavy. This has now continued. She has been eating but it is getting cold- and it is towards the tail end of when they should be heading out to migrate :( We started to bring her in at night and take her out during the day, but she will not fly anywhere. Just scrambles around. Shes fallen on her back a few times now and I've had to get her up. I've taken her outside to sit on some flowers and get some air during the day but she doesn't seem to enjoy the wind- and it will blow her over sometimes. I had really hoped she may get her bearings and fly but no such luck. So I guess we are keeping her, but I really hope we didnt do anything to harm her chances. As she is our current and only monarch, her name is Elizabeth and she lives in a herb dryer. Finally got her enclosure today.
Thank you for this information. I have used all three options at different times and for me it really depends on how badly damaged they are when they emerge. I kept one for a while as it damaged a wing flying into the screen door. I tried adding Gorilla glue along the edge of the wing & was excited that it seemed ok at first, but then it tore at the place in the wing where the glue ended because it was so anxious to get outside. I kept it for a couple of weeks after that and would take it outside and place it on flowers to feed as it wasn't too thrilled about the honey water I tried to give it. I had to watch it closely though because the geckos were very aware and I had to keep shooing them away. I joked with my neighbor that I was "walking my butterfly". I wanted it to experience some sunshine and flowers in it's short little life. Eventually it did accept the honey water and I would use an eye dropper to feed it and occasionally would take it outside for a walk and sometimes brought cut flowers in for it. I had kept a monarch once before and left the honey water in a soda bottle cap so it could drink from it when it wanted to, but that one started standing in the honey water and would go back in right away if I tried taking him out of it. I realized that tiny ants were small enough to get through the mesh of the enclosure and the butterfly realized the ants could not get to him if he stood in the honey water. I had the mesh enclosure in the screened in front porch. So I didn't try that again. And was that instinct or intelligence on his part? I was impressed. This last monarch I kept inside the house in it's mesh enclosure and when I gave it honey water I would take it out of the cage to feed it with the eye dropper or sometimes I used a Qtip and soaked one end in the honey water for it to feed. Then if it happened to get any of the honey water on it I would give it a quick bath so it didn't attract ants into it's cage . I also put an ant trap in a safe secure place several feet from the cage while in the house just to make sure no ants that were able to make it into the house would bother it. I wasn't sure how often to feed it, but it lasted quite a while. It was during the "stay at home" so I had plenty of time to care for it. Because it couldn't fly, I put the cut flowers in a mason jar lid on the floor of the cage tucked into a wet paper towel so it could climb onto them easily and put the cage by the window. It would get excited when it saw me coming as it meant food and eventually lost most of the wing. I wish I had seen your video earlier as my repair may have worked better with the reinforcing cardboard and the contact cement. I have kept some of the butterflies I've euthanized over the last couple of years so I'm going to practice for the next time I have one with a damaged wing. Someone else said to put them in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to calm them down before trying to repair the wing? Also, I'm not always sure if they emerge with deformed wings if they are diseased in some way as I sometimes bring in mature caterpillars if I happen to see them. So I was glad to hear what you said about it being a learning experience as sometimes I cant bring myself to euthanize them so I have put them outside and I know they aren't going to survive long. I haven't seen a gecko actually eat one of my butterflies, but I did see a gecko launch itself 2 feet into the air and catch a moth in flight that was only slightly smaller than a monarch so I always watch the butterflies I release to make sure they fly high enough to hopefully avoid the geckos. Do geckos also learn to avoid them? Or just birds?
Thank you so much for this video. I have been helping/raising and releasing monarchs for over two years, this was the first season I had a monarch emerge with a deformity to her wing, unable to fly and I live in New Hampshire. I was unsure what to do, but I allowed myself to follow my heart I released and placed her on some sedum in my garden, after I fed her honey water per your recommendation. She is free with a belly full of honey water, who knows what will happen to her, but I have peace knowing that I did all that I could to help the monarchs and keeping with as Nature intended! Thank you for ALL your videos!
Thank you for making this video. This is a conversation that I have had to deal with by myself for the past few days. I came across a male Monarch yesterday missing his whole top right wing and has about 40% of his lower right. I tried to come into contact with a butterfly santuary where I live for help, and they directed me to the animal department for my phone call to be ignored. So I am at a crossroad with caring for him or releasing him back where I found him in the first place. It is troubling because I can see his want to fly, he looks at his missing wing a lot. I haven't come to a full conclusion yet on what to do, I believe in returning him, on the other hand, I fear that his death will come from the heat of the sun rather than an animal. still having trouble, but the way you outline these options just gives me a perspective to work on making me feel less alone in my way of thinking. yeah.. Thank you.
As there's no easy or ideal option, it's a topic not everyone wishes to discuss. Those tend to be the ones most worth a discussion, though. Thus, I decided to tackle it. I'm sorry that you've found yourself in this position, but I hope the video can help with whichever choice you make. Regardless of the option you go for, thank you for your compassion towards this individual, for sure.
As always thank you for the video. I dont feel that you needed to defend yourself so abundantly. Anyone who comments negatively either has no idea how the world works, or the scope of your work and therefore should be entirely disregarded. Clearly as a person who dedicates so much of their time and effort to the rearing of monarchs, and their habitat, as well as the education of others, has nothing but the utmost care for the creature. This is just simply a fact of life, furthermore unless theyre vegan from diet to lifestyle they really have no business commenting.
I appreciate that, Amanda. In all honesty, some of what was brought up before going into the various options was for the younger crowd. Students watch these videos sometimes, and their younger siblings too. Just wanted to make sure such things are clear. It's a sensitive topic for most at times. Thanks for the support, though!
@@MrLundScience I get it. My boys are 4&5. We had a discussion about the possibility of sick or injured cats and butterflies before we went out and looked for our first eggs last year and we had the same discussion this year too.
I had a monarch unable to fly one year. Long story short, it was my mistake. 😞 I kept him as my pet butterfly and I’d take him outside every day to get nectar from flower to flower like butterflies do in the wild. He could fly short distances so whenever he’d fly I’d have to go pick him back up. I tried to make sure his life was as normal as possible. He died after 8 days as a butterfly
Thanks so much for your videos. We just had a monarch hatch yesterday on our front porch (from nature, we are not raising them but we plant milkweed for them) and it was on the ground crumpled and struggling to survive. My first thought was to let nature take its course. But after I saw it was still alive last night, my heart broke and I had to help it. Its wings are badly deformed but hes hanging in there. I fed it some sugar water and mango based on your feeding video (so helpful!) He ate but i dont think he's doing well. He's barely moving. I may choose option 2 and maybe let him be the one that teaches the birds a lesson. As heartbreaking as that sounds, I know nature has to run its course and it is what it is. Now I just need to figure out what's the best flower to place him on....
Bro! Only had to come across this situation to end up watching this video! GREAT VIDEO!!! I would've never know what to do with my Flightless Gulf Fritillary... It hatched and it felt, unfortunately I came to realize this several hours after, and its wings never made it. Disappointed, Cause I really Wanted to take some Good-HD-Pictures of it after the long wait... guess its gonna have to be at another time, and will let nature do its thing. Thanks Mr. Lund, keep up the good work!
This is my second year as a Monarch Guardian. Just yesterday I had a female fall during eclose. I did not witness it, so I'm unsure if it was due to a leg caught or what. Long story short, I managed to help her so she did fully inflate her wings, and they are 99% visually perfect and seem to be functioning as far as flapping. Yet she still can't seem to take wing. I am so very appreciative that you did make this video because you offered a practical alternative I did not find elsewhere when looking for what else I can do besides keep her for her life cycle or euthanize. I am currently a bit overwhelmed since I'm near 7 times the number I raised and released last year, so the pet option seemed daunting. I really do not want to euthanize. So thank you for this third option. While watching this video, I did think of a fourth (and this may have been one of the "others" you mentioned but did not cover, and someone may have even suggested it below but I don't have time to read through them all to see, so apologies if someone has), which is to check with my local library and see if they wanted to schedule one of their special animal visits where I could bring her and talk to the children about Monarchs and explain some possibilities of what went wrong. We don't have year round schools here, or I'd look into that as well. Later today, I will try feeding her honey water to see if that helps her regain the energy lost trying to right herself before I got her in position on my finger. I have read cases where even one day's worth of feeding gave them the boost they needed to fly normally. I am hoping that will be enough, but if not I will releasing her soon if the library says they can't fit it in. Even if she doesn't make it to her full potential life span outdoors, I'll have some comfort knowing she may serve as a lesson to a predator that saves another healthier Monarch later. Thank you.
Certainly finding a way to allow the Monarch to benefit the cause in some fashion is an honorable option. I suppose if you're still caring for it, though, whether you bring it to school or not, I see that as the "home care" option, if you want to call it that. Just a variance of it. I've euthanized two Monarchs before. It's sad. But still, to make "the best" of it, I thawed them, pinned, spread, and mounted them. Once preserved, these are the two that I use with my Science Olympiad students, and others, to learn a bit more about their anatomy and other details. If we can find a benefit, that always helps make it a better situation. Perhaps still not a good one, but a better one than it would be otherwise. Sorry that this happened.
I just had this situation and it about killed me! I had a female that couldn't fly so I fed her well and let her go in the am,, put her on a nice cluster of flowers to let her enjoy a "normal" life. I found her on the lawn the next day, brought her in fed her again and let her go to let nature take its course. I found her two days later in the coils of the hose. It really was too late. But I thought I could feed her and just keep her in in the evenings and out during the day on plants inside some netting. She wouldn't eat and just got weaker and weaker. It was heartbreaking. She finally passed two days later and I buried her under the milkweed she was born on. Thank you for your videos and the inspiration. So far I've release 22 with 33 and 24 to go. I live in East Central Florida so this weekend I will be cutting my milkweed back to discourage any more eggs. I'm hoping to be confident enough next year to tag my "kids". Thank you for your videos I've learned so much.
Hello from another Monarch lover in Port Orange Fl. I now have one that fell during enclose and the wing is malformed. I am feeding him and hoping he at least lives a decent life.
@@fishingpinky3165l had one female with closed wings . l had her as a pet for 6 weeks .
Feed her on a cotton ball in the house put it in a small lid.
I made Willow a netting enclosure to wrap around milkweed out side so she could enjoy the flowers and walk around and be safe. I couldnt believe it sure started laying unfertalized eggs all over the plants. She was so happy. I did spend alot of time with her.Willow even went camping with us in our RV .😂 came home and lived her life a complete 6 weeks. I cried as she got weaker. She would turn her head and look at me as if to speak her gratefulness.
Oh goodness. That’s heart breaking. All of mine flew high and out of sight quickly except for one. I’ve noticed his wing isn’t right. It’s sort of bent I think. I put it back in the enclosure on some flowers and it’s hanging at the top of the cage I’m going to try again tomorrow
How about replacing the wing, fixing the wing there are videos on it I just did it for one of my butterflies today and she's fine flying around
Awhhh man 🤧 I found one today that definitely had something wrong with its right wing and it’s quite obvious it’s having trouble flying .. I took it home to feed but it’s getting really cold here in Toronto Canada as it’s October now :( .. do you think I can make it a decent enclosure so that it can have a decent life until it passes?
There is an emotional side to this entire process... anticipation, hope, joy, wonder, and the sadness of letting them go, even when everything goes perfectly. Having the validation of some options can help people feel a lot less guilty when something unsavory needs to be done. Would love you to share more of that wonder and leave us with uplifting ideas, even on the difficult subjects. Thank you for guiding us through the dark side, so we don't have to do it alone. Now go inspire us some more and remind us why it is so worth the risk to raise something so fragile, yet so amazing. :)
I'll attempt to do my best.
In my case, I'm happy when I see them go, I have helped them so it's time to fly away.
Amen!
Hope to see more too!!
@@MrLundScience what is the name of the primate glue that you used to hang the chrysalis and where do I get it?
I ordered a natural one online but it's going to be 4 days before it comes in the mail and I just used Elmer's wood glue out of pure desperation and it's hanging pretty good I just hope that it doesn't toxify my chrysalis?
@@debbiyvettefontaine2095 I think he was referring to "Gorilla" brand glue.
Rich, today I watched a monarch struggle to get out of the chrysalis. We sat there for an hour and a half not knowing it should only take 15 minutes and finally the butterfly had just a little bit left on one wing so I got a tweezers and pulled it off. The butterfly very weakly flooded its wings and after watching your video I gave up hope. As a last resortI took the butterfly and put her on a nectar plant and let her sit there. I went in the house To cry I kept checking on her. Approximately two hours later after checking on her every 10 minutes I looked out just in time to see her wings fluttering madly fully grown and watch her fly away. Thank you for your advice on Putting the butterfly on a nectar plant in this case it wasn’t to die, it was to nourish her until she had the strength and get the fluid in her wings to fly away
There is a 4th option. Many years ago, I had a male, Pete, who eclosed with one bent forewing - otherwise he was perfect. I kept him in an outdoor enclosure, fed him Gatorade and made sure he had fresh flowers. After work each day, I would take him out in the garden and put him on flowers. He lived for 5 weeks in this manner. It was sad, but I didn't know what else to do and - at that point - had never had to euthanize a butterfly. Much later, I discovered a video about REPLACING a butterfly wing, so when I found a dead monarch on my lawn, I kept it in my freezer. In time I had another with a bent wing and, following the directions in the video, I replaced it with one of my frozen wings. That butterfly flew! In fact, I used another monarch wing to replace a broken wing on a giant swallowtail that I'd raised. Those butterflies are NOT calm and laid back like monarchs - when they want to go, they'll beat themselves up. I first tried splinting the cracked wing, but the light cardboard splint was too heavy. So I cut a piece of monarch wing to fit the shape of the swallowtail wing, glued it and he flew off. A frankenfly that wouldn't look good to a mate to be sure, but he was able to go.
Thanks so much for making this video. Sadly, I am faced with this situation. I have raised and released 28 Monarch butterflies this season, which has been a great triumph for me! Yesterday morning I saw that two chrysalis were darkened and it was just a matter of time before 2 new butterflies emerged. Normally, they have been emerging early in the morning, but it's September in Kentucky (if that has anything to do with it) and my butterflies are coming out a little later in the day, like afternoons. So I had to run an errand and when I got back, both were out and one was hanging normally. The other, though, had the end of her abdomen still stuck inside the chrysalis and her wings were not looking normal. With a gentle touch, I disconnected her from the chrysalis and she seemed relieved and started walking around on the screen her chrysalis was attached to. The other butterfly soon flew away but this little girl, started her wing beats and I saw the problem. Her wings had been malformed as a result of her being stuck. She's eager to crawl onto my finger as I take her from flower to flower, and she spent the night on a Tithonia in my flower bed. Today I have taken her to the butterfly bush and she is eating well. I feel so guilty about not being here during her birth.. I even thought of building her new wings out of wings I've found in the past. But I am going with your second option. I will keep her outside on my flowers for as long as they hold out, but it is September and they are already fading. So much can happen during the raising of these beautiful creatures...but I think I will still do it again next year. A little older, and a little wiser all the time. Thank you again, Rich.
And thank YOU for doing what you can to help them. Any of the options are respectable, but that also means, when any option of these are chosen, I can only respect the person for making their decision. And another thank you given for considering them and deciding which you were most comfortable with. Each year teaches us the lessons needed to improve the next year. We just have to be willing to listen.
I have raised more than 300 butterflies this summer, just today when I come home from work and found two butterflies fall from hanging and broken their wings. I think it will be hard for them to make the trip to Mexico, so I might just take care of them as pets. It’s so hard to see them like this, because they meant to fly.
@@allyzhou1045 𝚒 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚜𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚙 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚔𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚊𝚍𝚕𝚢
Found a monarch that is most definitely unable to fly in my backyard 4-5 hours ago now. I’ve been hanging out in the backyard with it, its full of energy, and more than happy to eat, but it has made absolutely no progress with flying more than an inch or two before summersaulting around in the air & death spiraling into a very painful to watch crash landing, every time. It had rained pretty heavily yesterday so when I found him struggling on my lawn I was hoping he just needed to try off, but it’s clear now that is not the case. Since I just happened upon it, I’m very ill prepared. This video popped up as one of the first results when searching for how to handle a flightless monarch on Bing. I’ve been trying my best to help the little guy out since 11:45am (ish) this morning with his energy being the only thing seeing improvement. Thank you for posting this, it’s relieving to know that there really is just only so much I can do & he isn’t just suffering due to my ignorance. I can finally take a breath.
I've been raising Monarch's for 7 years now and I've seen a lot! The good, bad and the really tough decisions. I had 1 Monarch that didn't form properly and was OE free. I decided to raise it and I fed it Hummingbird food for the 6 weeks it lived. It didn't seem to want to be free. It was as if it knew what I was doing to help it. It knew when I was going to feed it and it ate well. I believe most live 6 weeks or maybe more, but I felt good that I gave this One 6 weeks it wouldn't have otherwise had. Thank you for your videos. I always recommend them to new people raising Monarch's. I'm in San Diego California and the Tanchid fly is the worst enemy to the Monarch's! I wish We could figure out how to get rid of this pest! It kills so many!!!
Oh l did just that as well. I made a net enclosure for her to walk and enjoy milkweed outside and put it on with a close pin. Willow even layed eggs on MW.. That was a happy thing. 6 weeks she lived. Took her camping in the RV too. ❤ Such a gift right?
I needed this video. 2 days ago, a monarch emerged and her wings are very crumpled and she can't fly. Her Chyrsalis had fallen, I thought that maybe I caught it in time and unfortunately I did not. I feel responsible, but I wasn't home when she fell. Thank you Rich.
You're very welcome. We all go through it at some point if we are raising enough Monarchs. It's a shared experience, though I'm sure not many of us like talking about it. It's an uncomfortable topic. To be honest, I've gotten much more positive feedback on this than I thought. That's appreciated, for sure.
What sort of enclosure do you have the chrysalides in? If it's all mesh, then they should be able to climb back up the side if they fall. But if it's a plastic/glass aquarium then they have trouble climbing up the sides.
I honestly like a mix of option 1 and 2. I had one early this year that couldn’t fly, so I kept him in a cage but felt that hurt that he couldn’t be what he was. So I decided everyday for a few hours id let him out into the gardens. He seemed to really enjoy that.
I tried the same about 2 years ago with one who was nearing the end of her days. I found her in my yard with a torn wing and couldn't bare the thought of just leaving her there struggling. So I brought her in, I repaired the wing, I fed her and took her outside to the wildflowers several times a day and after about 4 days she really seemed like she wanted to be away from me, out in nature. For the first days, she didn't try to get away at all so it didn't feel wrong. But once she started trying to go, I started feeling guilty. So I said my goodbye, as did my cat.. He grew pretty attached to her lol.. And I took her out to the back field full of flowers. She flew, a little, and the next day I couldn't find her.
@@Liannabelle8 hello please may u tell me how u fixed the wing? I have a butterfly whos wing is completely damaged and mis-shapened and I really want to attempt to fix it! Please explain in detail and every step you did to help it. Also can butterflies that havent been fed well be too weak to fly? I took mine home from a nursery I work at as they were the last two that wouldnt fly off but all the others were fine and seems they havent been fed well so I've made some honey water nectar up for them on a sponge and they have drank some with their tongues. I've got two both cant fly but ones wings are fine (as much as I can tell) whilst the others wings are mis-shapened and broken and when they try and fly they both just flitter on their backs upside down trying to get back up... its very stressful and sad as I have so much empathy for all living things and do not at all want them to suffer I just want them to live their lives they were they are supposed too 😢. Please any advice would be much appreciated 🙏 ❤ thanks a bunch and anyone else whos got advice please let me know ASAP!
@@Liannabelle8 I am going thru the same thing now. I like what you did...I will take mine out tomorrow and see how it goes.
I've had some where they just needed some extra tlc. Fed them, gave them sunshine while protecting them from the neighborhood cats, and then they were able to fly away after a day or so.
I hope this is the case with mine...in the meantime I make sure I take her outside in the Breeze and sunshine and I feel her enclosure with flowers and nature
She did NOT ever fly...but she lived quite a bit longer than the last one I had that had a birth defect. Unfortunately, because I rescue caterpillars from the wild and try to keep them safe until they emerge from cocoon, near 50% of mine are born unable to fly or fuse there proboscis. But the ones that do live.... I feel like those are victories! :-)
At least she lived a good life from what I read
That’s what I do. 💕
@@sonyasmith9183 that's still one more that has survived when you are able to release them.❤
I actually think it’s incredibly important to discuss this circumstance. After a period of time if one continues to raise monarchs, they will have to make this decision. Thank you so much for sharing.
Your videos have been a saving grace! Finding information on caring for injured monarchs is surprisingly hard to come by.
We recently had a rescued chrysalis that had fallen, and was badly flattened on one side. The butterfly emerged with one set of wings curled to the side, and sadly cannot fly.
We've made the choice to feed and caretake for her, thank you for sharing the knowledge for how to feed them!
Yes, I noticed this topic wasn't really out there at the time (and I guess, still isn't too much). I assumed it might be that it's a rough subject and not too many probably want to talk about it. I didn't really want to either. Still, it's better to be equipped with some options if the situation arises than to not. Glad you found it useful!
Since I found your channel 2 years ago, I've been on a mission to help the Monarch butterflies. I commented my 1st go around, when 2 of my hatchlings didn't hatch. You said they were sick. (Thank you for helping me). Last year I raised 2 with perfect success. Well this year I planted milkweed seeds I'd gathered last fall. They yielded about 10-15 large plants. I babied those plants all summer, but no eggs as of July 28th. We went on vacation for 2 weeks, and when we got home, behold 20 monarch caterpillars. All the same age; I'm assuming just 1 female took advantage of the garden I'd planted just for her. Five developed their chrysalis today and 6 are j-hanging tonight on the lattice I placed behind the Monarch garden. This is a very fulfilling project, and I can't wait to do it again. I couldn't have done it without your UA-cam channel. Thanks so much!
So cool to hear that! Sounds like a female did do an "egg dump" on your plants if they are all of the same developmental age, but, that's not certain of course. Either way, so glad to hear that it's been successful for you this year. You're off and rolling!
I cannot thank you enough for making this video. About a year ago I started a butterfly garden outside and a small one in my screen room. By the way I live in Florida. The middle of February I had approximately 60 caterpillars outside at one time. Luckily I was able to buy alot of milkweed to feed them all. However because I had so many a few of the butterflies have deformed wings or a front broken leg. I have been sad to put it mildly. After watching your video it helped to understand why it can happen and my options. I am feeding one, she's very calm and will sit on my finger. Unfortunately the 2 others are beyond help. Great news yesterday I released 23 monarchs.
Where is the video
@@frankdzierzanowski5492I think she’s referring to the one we are watching.
Thank you for the guidance! The fact is, if you’re raising as many monarchs as I am. There’s no way around the fact there’s gonna be some problems and some very sad days. We chose to take in nature and we should al know nature can be very cruel as well as absolutely beautiful and a great learning process for our soul and life lessons. I’ve raised 100’s if monarchs over the last 5 years and please don’t take this the wrong way. It gets a tiny drop easier making decisions once you’ve experienced all that I have so far. I’m not as shocked going out in the morning and seeing a hanging down caterpillar partially alive, but in its way out. I refuse to allow the other insects to slowly eat it and it can spread what ever caused its sickness to all the other caterpillars unfortunately. I’ve also experienced deformed butterflies come out of perfect chrysalis’ . I’ve tried fixing their wings and it never works. I don’t have the experience or the tools for it. Every year I feel myself wanting to call it quits and pull all the milkweed out and never do this again, but somehow I push on and do it year after year and hope for the best. At least I’ve watched a few hundred monarchs fly away so far. It makes it worth the bad times to witness that.
The best way to learn is through experience along with great videos like this one. It’s all about sharing our experiences to help each other help the monarchs as well as other pollinators. Good luck everyone!
I appreciate your video and found it after we found a wild monarch with a bent wing 😢 we are going to try option 1…thanks for this information…it was super helpful!
Thank You. I’m raising monarchs and the last batch had a few with wing problems. I’ve actually handled things the same way you describe. One died and the others were ok in a few days. I hand fed one of them constantly and let him just hang out on the flowers. They walked just fine and enjoyed walking the screens. They were enclosed in my patio. But still unable to Fly.
Then one day when I brought it outside it took flight. I was cheering it on. It went pretty high then came back circling all over the garden and fluttering around my head as if she was saying thanks. I’ll never forget that butterfly
We found a chrysalis attached to a fuel can in our lawn mower shed and have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of our little friend. It eclosed sometime yesterday and still had curled wings when we discovered it, so we left it in the shed, not knowing how much longer it needed to rest. Today it was stuck in a cobweb and the wings were still curled up. :-( We appreciate this video, as it helped immensely with deciding to give the little fella (or lady) a chance to experience life. After bravely flutter-stepping around our driveway, it found some clovers to munch on. If 2020 has taught us anything so far, it's that you've got to live what life you have! Thanks again!
Thank you for making this video. Woke up this morning to a butterfly that had fallen while filling his wings and wasn't sure what to do. Very glad to see you have a video on the topic.
Your videos are fantastic and I am so grateful to have found them…. Especially grateful for your willingness to speak in a thoughtful manner about our special needs butterflies as well as the OE parasite problem and how to test for it. Thank you for having the courage knowing that your knowledge was needed! I have a weak and malformed female in my care now after finding her struggling outside. We have a microscope on order, but she is quarantined for the interim. I made the mistake of placing a too large ramekin with sugar water outside while she was still there only later to be horrified finding her drowning in it! A full 24 hours, few dunks and showers later, she seems happy enough in her box along w her watermelon and honey water cotton ball and of course milkweed to make her feel more at home. Tomorrow we’ll see how she does placed on flowers and pray she will let us know what she wants… continue w option #1 or find her own way via option #2.
Deep bow of appreciation for your work and service. There is still hope in this wild world ❤️
This is my first year of raising Monarchs. I've released 15 so far. The 16th one just emerged this morning. He is our in my habitat drying his wings. I have one more chrysalis that I think will emerge tomorrow. I've watched so many of your videos and they have helped so much. THANK YOU! I live in SW Florida so our season is, as you know, longer. I've had a few that didn't make it for whatever reason. I was heart broken and didn't want to see them suffer, so thank you for the euthanizing video. I think the freezer is the best option, and a proper burial afterward. I also had one with a crumpled wing and after caring for it for a couple of days I took it to work and released it in our butterfly garden. (I work in a library that has a butterfly garden that is maintained by a volunteer gardening group. The local butterfly group comes and releases some butterflies there, occasionally) I felt it was the best place to feel free and have a food source that it could get to with its limited mobility. I do have a question. One of the butterflies I froze I felt may have had OE, she was badly deformed. Do you think the freezing helps to kill and prevent the spread of OE?
Hey Phillis. Sorry that there were a few that didn't do so well, but, it takes a thicker skin than some might think to raise these guys. Thank you for soldiering through it. It's much appreciated. Thank you for your care and concern.
As for the euthanized butterfly that may have had OE, I wouldn't be too worried. The spores can survive cold temperatures. How cold, I'm not 100% sure on. Still, we must be careful that after euthanizing, we dispose of the body properly, and burial (followed by a hand washing) should do the trick just fine. OE spores are only a problem if they get to where a caterpillar will eat them. That would be either on milkweed leaves, or onto an adult that will either put them on milkweed leaves, or on another adult that will, such as in mating. So, burying them in the ground would pose no issues.
thankyou for this I fixed a monarchs wing and it flew. thank you so much
Great job! Hope he/she is doing well and on its way!
I don’t have enough words to express how much your videos have helped me and how much I have enjoyed raising monarchs. Today I have my first little guy that can’t fly and I am so heartbroken. Thank you for taking on this topic and presenting all the options in a compassionate rational way. Trying to figure out what went wrong but I have no idea. Heartbreaking.
It's sad when it happens, for sure, but it's better to happen with the knowledge of what you would do in such a situation. I had a male this year that had everything about him looking perfect. But, he'd flap his wings in erratic ways, and just couldn't fly. Everything was in tact, but no flight. If we raise Monarchs for enough summers, we'll see this from time to time. Never easy to see, but we'll see it nonetheless.
@@MrLundScience Soo, I tested for OE and he was clean, I kept him overnight because it was late and then in the morning I brought him a fresh flower he was eating like crazy. I had opted for putting him out in the garden as my solution so I took him out there put him on a flower in my butterfly garden and he took off and flew away!!
Yeah, when their wings look good, you gotta give them a few days to perhaps "figure it out", so to speak. This year's male, I described, never was able to get it under control. I'm pleased to hear that yours eventually took flight.
I have a monarch that emerged last weekend and did not have quite enough room to dry his wings properly. He surprised me by eclosing a day or so earlier than expected.
He has both fore wings bent slightly. Otherwise healthy.
I have decided to keep him and I place him out on a huge flowering bush with lots of other butterflies during the day. He is seemingly learning to fly short distances but comes in to a flower bouquet I have in my en suite bathroom for the night.
I think this is a better option than just keeping in a box or whatever. It's a little of the one idea and a little of the other. I know a bird may eat him and nature may take it's course but he's hopefully getting some quality of life and I feel I am doing the best for him I can at present.
I am considering cutting a small portion of the bent area off each of his wings to hopefully help him fly better. I have heard with 60% of wings they can still fly.
Has anyone tried this?
I'm sure may have tried it, and I'm guessing with mixed success. Probably it's obvious, but it depends upon what 40% is missing. If it's just the tips of the fore wings, the logic is sound, and if I were in your position, I'd probably try it out.
Rebekah Bennett hi, same thing happened to me, I would throw him in the air and he would flutter down, one day he flew away! So awesome!
Thank you so much for this video. I knew these would be the three options you would discuss but somehow listening to someone else discuss it helped me with this process.
Thank you for those words. That was definitely one of the goals of this video. Very much appreciated.
Sad video, but it makes me happy to see so many people passionate about this hobby.
Thank you for this video. We literally raised 100s of monarchs this summer with all the stay at home orders this year. Deciding what to do for the few that can't fly has been very hard. Sometimes I've raised them for weeks and sometimes I've put them outside (but geez the guilt of "giving up on them" was a lot). Your logic on option 2 is a very helpful way to look at it so thank you for that.
Thank you very much for all these Monarch Butterfly videos. While I've only had one butterfly emerge from a Chrysalis just fine this season, I now have the information on what I could do if future butterflies aren't as lucky.
Keep up the great work, sir!
Happy to help! I'm R&D-ing a possible 4th option, but that might take time to be presented correctly. We'll see this season if it works out.
Have learned so much from your informative videos and love reading your thoughtful and empathetic responses to comments. You are a fine teacher! Sadly, my very first butterfly to eclose fell just after he had pumped fluid into the veins. Got him back on the chrysalis very quickly, but his lower right wing is slightly damaged and the upper right is a little misshapen. He is unable to fly aside from very short flutters, mostly down. I have decided on a combination of 1 and 2. I take him in at night and in rain and feed him some honey water, but put him outside on flowers in my garden when it is sunny and warm during the day. I am hoping that he is enjoying his time out in nature. If he teaches a bird a good lesson about eating monarchs, so be it. Happily, I have 10 more chrysalides and one last instar 5 cat, and I'm hoping they will all do better.
Yeah, there's no easy choice with these options. But, you gotta do what you feel most comfortable with, and at least take solace in knowing that whichever option you prefer, there is an amount of logic to it.
Thanks so much for this informative and thoughtful video. Was upset to have found a Monarch on the grass with deformed wing. Will opt for second choice.
I've seen wing transplants and the monarchs being able to fly again
As have I. That's still something I want to explore, but when I've seen others do it, I haven't seen them talk about or test out how lasting the methods are. I want to try and find a way that I can provide information on how durable the repair is, since there's different ways of doing it. Thus, we could say it's still in the "R&D" stage for me.
Mine was like that, but I needed to “train” him to fly, it was emotional! I was proud
This really helped with my butterfly but she/he still can't fly can anyone help?
@@jewelvibes6765 Cute
A few thoughts about wing or partial wing replacement: you have to be willing to remove and store wings from deceased Monarchs ahead of time, to be prepared for such an event. That means you will probably get them from recent dead or euthanized in freezer Bflies that had no quality of Bfly life - like, deformed in parts, or wing movement too weakened by unknown causes to allow the Bfly to function in any reasonable life, etc. Then, consider the recipient Bfly. My personal guideline is when I have a robust Bfly, who otherwise seems healthy, really seems to try persistently to fly, and has a wing damaged or deformed that can be a straight forward swap with a normal replacement part, then, the procedure is worth it because it will have a very high potential to be successful. You have to study up on how to do this and have the tools recommended and plan it out thoroughly. I have to say that each time I’ve done this, when the robust butterfly all of a sudden has a balanced body/wings and then after drying (glue) and resting, he takes off - up, up and away - it is really a joyful moment. My mind always pictures the little Bfly exclaiming to himself and the world “Uh, oh, Wow ! I don’t know what happened but now I’m whole and I can FLY !!!”.
This happened to me four different times. I placed mine in the garden with flowers but it still made me sad but it is nature and it is a process if we try to help Monarchs continue to multiply and survive. Thanks Rich for the information
You're welcome. If we raise Monarchs, eventually we encounter this. While it's not "pleasant" information, its information we might need from time to time to consider. Thanks for checking it out.
Thank you for posting this. I just experienced my first flightless Monarch. Perfectly formed wings, but something must have gone wrong somewhere. I have decided to put him in my large lantana and let him feed and experience the nature he is so eager to be in. I want his purpose to be an "educational" experience for a young bird so as to protect the healthy Monarchs. Every living creature needs to have a purpose. :)
I was given a caterpillar that was a few weeks old by a friend who's a "master gardener" and this caterpillar was kept in a container on a leaf and the leaf was kept in a vial to keep the leaf moist and the vial was kept in a glass jar. Everything was going fine until one day, a family member accidentally knocked the container on the ground. The glass jar squished the poor thing. I was heart broke. 😭 I was just a beginner and that was my first caterpillar so I did not know that the jar posed a threat to my caterpillar so I learned alot from that experience. I admire your work and your channel so much that you have inspired me to grow milkweed in my backyard and try to raise caterpillars again.😊
I'm happy to hear that you're still at it. We're all human, capable of making mistakes. Continuing on, you'll save more Monarchs and be helping them in the long run. When tragedy happens, learning from it can make it a good thing in retrospect. In life in general, I've had to make some major mistakes to gain some wisdom. Mistakes are like life's version of sore muscles. Have to go through that soreness to increase your strength.
We have a bunch of cocoons in our patio. Today we noticed a butterfly on its back on the floor. We think he had fallen off of its chrysalis while it was pumping fluid. We kept flipping it over onto its feet but I thinks it’s wings were injured. Glad we found this video bc we wanted to help it. We ended up putting the butter fly on a flower so it could enjoy nature while it can.
Thank you so very much for putting this video together. Within a month of having our first monarch caterpillar we have found ourselves in this situation. It's heartbreaking. Because you bravely decided to discuss the hard topic I have the information I needed. For what it's worth, your option 2 was the one that I had selected on my own but I was starting to second guess my decision. It's heartbreaking to see her hanging on the top of a milkweed flower but she does not seem to be in distress at all (aside from the obvious). I was starting to consider option 1 but honestly I think I would just end up making it worse for her and us.
Seriously, thank you. Your video really helped with the emotions.
On a happier note, our milkweed (three different species) are absolutely full of caterpillars and I can find chrysalids easily pretty much everywhere in our yard. One of our swamp milkweed plants (A. Incarnata) was literally eaten to the ground with only half a leaf remaining at the bottom of a naked stem. A few days later it had new growth all over it.
Thank you for your honest and informational video. I was given a caterpillar and raised it as a class pet. We were very happy today as we witnessed the butterflying emerging from its chrysalis. However, both of his front wings are curled. I have been researching on what to do and came across your video. I am thinking about taking it home to nurse it.
So VERY lovely to see a man with such compassion. I work in Dog Rescue, am familiar with Dog Rescues (and those who pledge, share, foster, transport, advocate) all over the country. Very few involved are men. HOWEVER let me say, when there is a disaster (flood/tornado) or something, we certainly do see men coming out to help. Just wish they helped as much with the daily DOG-overpopulation issues. Millions are euthanized ever year in kill shelters. ADOPT, don't $hop.
I appreciate your help! Your video was very helpful for the monarch my students found. I'm going with option #2 and plan to use this life lesson as part of our natural selection and life cycle units. Thank you for the helpful information.
What an awesome awesome video. Thank you so much for presenting this. This is my 2nd year with Monarchs, and today was just a bad day. After dozens of happy releases, I had two to euthanize, and for the first time, a failure to fly.
Beautifully formed, good wing action, but he cannot stay airborne.
I watched your video...felt hugely not so alone...so I'll feed this boy and see how he is in the morning. Maybe with food, rest and some bench presses, he'll be ready to fly.
Otherwise, sadly, he's a candidate for option 2. He wants out, one way or another.. .
Thanks again.
Give them at least a week of TLC before giving up on them. I found that sometimes it takes that long. Sometimes they have a slightly swollen belly, and I don't know what it is, but it resolves in a few days and suddenly they feel well and they can fly. Sometimes I think the failure to stay airborne is that they don't feel well and they're not flapping their wings fast enough. When they feel well, they get full of energy and they can fly away. Also, I found that many monarchs with a split proboscis, after feeding them pure liquid for a few days, will sometimes fuse them days later. Again, I think they don't feel well and after they start to feel better, they do what they need to survive. I've been able to release some that came out with a split proboscis after several days.
Thank you so much for this video. Extremely helpful!
I've had a monarch do a similar thing that you said and fell while eclosing. Same thing happened, crumpled wings. I decided to do the natural thing and put him on some flowers, but when I went to go check on him again he was covered in ants. I felt terrible LOL. I am taking care of an Eastern Black Swallowtail that eclosed way late as I write this and she is almost a month old. I'm enjoying it. She is not a burden
Very informative video. One of ours has a deformed wing. :( We'll take the nature approach and let him enjoy his days out in nature where it should be. Thank you for sharing this!
Wait. Why not just keep it around and let it feel pleasure for as long as possible before it dies?
Thank you so much for sharing this insight and covering the pros and cons. We kept our girl Matilda and she is now a week old and seems to be doing well!
I'm pleased that you found an option you are most comfortable with. You compassion is appreciated!
Thank you!! I am new to raising monarchs. I have released 66 healthy ones since March. I've had a butterfly garden for decades. I moved to SW Florida 7 years ago and have really gotten into milkweed. I love having them all around the garden and have even watched them from just a couple feet away lay eggs on the milkweed outside. How fun!!! :) I have had a few not so healthy and today had one that dropped as it was hatching and is not formed at all. I thought for sure it was not alive and was so sad when I touched him and he moved. His 2 front legs do not work correctly. Although he's able to move around a bit with his back 2. His wings are not formed at all but you can see he's/she's trying to move them. The body looks disfigured. I am not sure if its stamen is working correctly. It doesn't seem to be moving that well. I've placed him on a large fully bloomed penta and have provided a cap of water and a small orange slice. In the flower. I was going to put him outside. I agree....this is how it would have been in nature. I don't want to put him in the freezer although my friend suggested that and I hate to see him suffer. So, I am going with letting him die naturally with dignity. Humanizing the monarch. hahah. I have a living will. I just hope he isn't in pain. My views may change in the future but for today he's sitting quietly on the penta. Your video was a tremendous help!! Great Work!! :) Thank You!! :)
We had one once that couldn’t fly,we kept it as a pet and she lived for at least two months.
Glad you have discussed all three options. It’s sad to see their wings broken and can’t fly like other healthy ones. Thank you for this marvelous video.
Thank you, I appreciate the time you took to share these options. I have raised several different butterflies, most successful some not and its never easy when its not. These videos are always helpful for those learning along the way. Regardless easy or not. I just found a monarch that can't fly properly so I will attempt to care for it and see what happens but I will also bring it outside from time to time especially since it has already experienced living outside. We'll see what happens from there. Thanks again for sharing all your monarch videos.
Thanks. It's the tough situations we don't like to talk about, and thus, probably the tough ones that need to be addressed from time to time. Appreciate you taking care of those that have a struggle.
I am having this issue now with a butterfly. I released 4 butterflies today, and noticed one was struggling a little. It managed to fly, but was flying low to the ground and kept on stopping on the fence, the car, the side of the house. I left the butterfly alone thinking it will just take this one a little longer. Tonight my husband and I come home and the monarch is waiting for us on our front door. We tried to get it to fly, but poor thing just couldn't fly right. Opened our door, butterfly flew in and landed in our turtle tank. I immediately fished it out of the water, and I have the butterfly back in our indoor enclosure for tonight. Haven't figured out what I'm going to do yet. I am at home for the next month recovering from knee surgery, so I do have some extra time on my hands.
Wait another day, try a few more times, if nothing improves than it's probably too late😭
You are the most recent comment, so i also have a question, if it's ok with you?
I have a beautiful monarch, and he is not able to fly. It almost seems like his wings are paralyzed. other than that, he seems fine, but his wings are stuck open
I'm not sure what 2 do...
I have raised monarch since I was a little kid and it has always been so fun! I have done it quite a few times, and I have had many different kinds of experiences with it. One of my latest experiences which is one of the sadder ones was when my caterpillars erupted with parasitic wasp worms, I was very sad after this, but again I still tried to keep them alive a second time and it was working for a while until they turned into cocoons, then after about half of them flew away we were stuck with three who all had bad wings or curved wings, we tried to help a few by letting them in the sun and in the wind and two of them flew off, one of them we still have who is just staying in our yard we didn’t want to take it back in an enclosure, so I did a mix of the two first options, I have it in a bush now, and it *could* get eaten, if it does, than that’s nature. But it is safe, with food.
Thank you so much for making this video. It is really valuable information and you raise some points that people may have never considered. The' lesson for predators" argument is one I had never considered. I have always kept and cared for my disabled monarchs, even if they are sick...but I don't keep them in cages. I have flower plants available and supplement them with homemade nectar. One thing I want to point out: you do NOT have to feed them multiple times a day. As long as their abdomen gets plump after they eat and they eat til they go potty, they are full. A typical feed should take several minutes when handfeeding. Monitor the butterfly's belly for signs of thinning and darker waste means they are more dehydrated. You can even save split proboscis monarchs if you provide a nectar reservoir! If you do this, you can get away with every other day if needed....so people with jobs can feed am or pm, or both if they want to, but the monarch will not suffer going 8 hours without food. Consider how much non-nectar-plant land they fly over. In Nature, sometimes they go days with nothing to eat.
All true. I suppose "need" (if I used that word) is too strong of a word. I feed them when they are hungry, it would seem, and try to keep it similar to nature, but certainly there are those rainy days they experience out there where they may not get any food for a day or two.
Glad to see you again on here!
Thank you for the information. You did the right thing talking about this. I think 2 is the best option because this is what would be if the butterfly was born outside but I would probably opt for 3 for my own selfish reasons. Thank you for helping us help the monarchs.
I'm glad that you found this useful. Thank you for your compassion for the Monarchs.
Interesting video! I too had to make these tough decisions from time to time. But only a handful of times I had the unique opportunity of letting deformed monarch butterflies serve their purpose. A couple of times during 'hatching phase' a male and female hatched with wing deformities. I kept em together and a couple of hours later they began mating. I guess they decided to skip the mating rituals and went for it. I kept them fed and safe while they were attached. When they detached I put the female on a potted milkweed plant and she had laid almost all of her eggs on that one milkweed plant. The male monarch I put him outside on top of a flower and let nature take its course. Days later I found the female monarch dead laying on top of the soil of the potted milkweed. We can always try to find a solution for a good ending.
Thank you so much, I really appreciate this video which I found after googling what to do when a monarch can't fly, a situation I am facing with a heavy heart. I do not raise monarchs indoors but I provide a natural habitat for them by growing milkweed and putting up a structure for them to form a chrysalis on. I usually only get a couple every year as my milkweed patch is still quite small, but this year I had 16 successfully form a chrysalis! Sadly, of these I had 2 that never hatched and 3 monarchs emerged with wing deformities that resulted in them not being able to fly. It baffles me as the chrysalides were undisturbed, and seeing the monarchs unable to fly has been so heartbreaking and distressing. I wanted to know what the options were, if perhaps there was some way I could help them. Hearing these three options, I will go with #2: placing them gently among the flowers in my yard, to play their role in nature. Thank you so much for covering this very difficult situation, your compassionate approach combined with the logical presentation of the options has helped immensely.
So glad to find your channel, am subscribed now. Found a monarch today in the wild that appears unable to fly and even a bit uneasy on feet/legs. Wings look great, with my limited experience anyway. Put it on some thawed frozen banana and milkweed, drank heartily and immediately. Storm is in progress so I tucked it in the greenhouse with echinacea where it can be dry and protected to just... wait and see? If it is newly emerged might it just take some time?
If the wings look relatively in tact and not damaged, sometimes, yes, Monarchs that don't seem able to fly can eventually figure it out. From my experience, it usually only takes a day, though, when this happens. I would suppose that multiple days could be a possibility. If you are comfortable caring for it and seeing if in a few days it's starts flying, that would be probably the optimal option. If it never ends up flying, though, you'll have to make a decision as to one of the options in this video (or perhaps other options that exist if you find one you prefer). I wish the lil' guy/gal luck!
MrLundScience Thank you thank you thank you 🙏🏼 It is with tears of joy and gratitude that I can report: It took to flight yesterday mid morning after a safe night amidst the carrot tops in the greenhouse. I heard flapping, ferocious flapping against the side, but not much height. Offered it the honey solution and when I pulled back to keep the feet out it popped up onto my shoulder! You have encouraged me and helped us both. Grace to you, this lil one (m or f, I have no clue, haha) is in the wild now!
Thank you for all the infomation you shared. We successfully raised (from 4th and 5th instar), tagged, and released 24 monarchs this year with no issues. A couple days ago, the kids were playing outside and found a forlorn looking monarch in the grass with multiple holes in all 4 wing sections, some of them quite large. Other spots of the wings were friable (visibly, they looked grey and papery, almost like they had been burned). We brought him inside, checked him for OE, then attempted a repair with parts of another monarch wing that my daughter had in her "nature collection." We didn't have enough material to cover all the holes, but we covered the largest ones. The butterfly was apparently starving, and drank nectar (honey water from the end of a soft paintbrush) multiple times over the next hour. We let him rest overnight, and attempted to release him today. Unfortutately, while he could fly okay, he couldn't seem to get any height, and kept fluttering back to the ground. So he's back with us, and since he seems relaxed and eager/easy to feed, I suppose we'll keep him.
I’m raising monarch caterpillars and your videos help me so much thank you so much
You're absolutely welcome! Glad I could be of service!
Yes number one was for me ! I made a little next with plants from a laundry hamper. It's their retirement home lol
2 out of 10 were deform and couldn't fly ..
After Listening to the whole video I feel like I want to let them out .. it's their life 😩
You are Awesome! Thankyou for your professional guidance. You are like the Guardian Angel for these beautiful beings. I’ve just subscribed to your excellent channel. Thanks again! ❤️
Hey, thanks! But remember, I'm not a professional when it comes to Monarchs. (High School Chemistry teacher? Yes, professional.) With the Monarchs, I'm an amateur, but perhaps a seasoned one. We all can be, if we stick at it. Welcome aboard!
I had a butterfly that had one set of the wings all messed up but after a few days of feeding it and caring for it he was able to fly so I released him
I'm just glad I'm not alone in agonizing over flightless butterflies. Going to give it a meal and drop it off at the nice butterfly garden at the park
I find myself in the sad position of contemplating these options. I have an adult who hatched missing the right antennae, a lame right front leg, and right main wing that came out of the chrysalis like a thin, wet noodle. I removed the wing and right foreleg as the leg would drag around, impeding the use of the proboscis. I find the whole experience very emotional as +Wildflower mentioned.
Thanks so much for the video. You've presented some arguments for different options I had not considered.
This helped make my decision much easier to make. Thanks again !!
Very sorry this happened, but I'm pleased that you found new ways of looking at the options and came to an informed choice. That was, in the end, the goal of the video, and while it's an uncomfortable situation, hopefully it was somewhat less uncomfortable than it would have been otherwise.
Thanks again.
Welcome!
Thank you so much for your videos. We are new to the world of monarchs and have a female who eclosed and looks normal but can't fly. I put her in our new 10'x10'x7' enclosure where she has a ton of different plants and trees to explore. My wife made a 4 to 1 sugar solution for her and we will care for her until she can fly or passes. Thanks again for all your help.
You're welcome, and thank you for your compassion for these animals.
I was thinking about what you were saying about options and possibly I have another there are conservation projects you could donate a butterfly to such as Niagara Falls and they look after them house them and such and they can be used as a ambassador and that way you are also giving them a chance as well and they will be around lots of other butterfly’s... and educate others as well..
If there is such a local area that would take it in, that's certainly an option. However, from what I understand of butterfly houses (which, admittedly, may be different than what you are describing) they are not very open to taking in foreign butterflies, as they may be carrying disease or other infectious pathogens that could spread to the others they already have and maintain. And offering them up one that has a deformity or other problems likely wouldn't boost their confidence that it doesn't have something going on with it. No harm in asking, though, I suppose.
Thank you for this information. I found a beautiful butterfly with a missing wing. My heart broke, so I brought it home. I looked up a few things and thankfully I came across your video.
Glad I could help. It's a sad situation, but hopefully informed options can help make it easier to manage. Good luck!
Thank you, this was really helpful. I’m glad you made the video.
I’ve raised all the adult butterflies that couldn’t fly, hand fed them and sometimes I took them out to educate people about monarchs. It’s like any other animals who need help, I chose not to euthanize unless they won’t eat or badly hurt by a cat or what ever. I also let them hang out on curtains facing a window or place them in my outdoor butterfly room. They need to feel free. Usually towards the end I may put them on a nice fresh flower and peacefully let nature take its course. They usually disappear or I find the dead body later on after some time. It’s sad but, you have to remember that you’ll have more soon. P.s. They respond to your affection when you talk to them.
Thanks for sharing, Rich! It was a great topic that we all need to know!
You're for sure welcome. I'm glad it's being received well. Some don't wish to discuss these parts of it, so it's been an elephant in the room for a while now. I'd rather talk about it and have some discussion than ignore something we all might go through.
Last year we had one with a bad wing. It could fly but for only short distances. We decided to let nature take it's course and let it go. As you mentioned, at least it got to experience nature. It does break your heart to see that but it breaks my heart to be driving down the road and see one fly smack into the car in front of me. You can't save everything. I have learned so much from your videos, thank you for the time and effort you have put into them. As I indicated to you before in a previous comment, the Hudson Valley in NYS has had a late start with the Monarchs. My first cat turned into chrysalis today. So far I am I nave collected over 40 eggs, woohoo!
Hey, great to hear that despite it being a late start, you've found plenty to keep yourself busy with! Thanks for updating me on that. It was definitely on my mind.
Last year, I had one fall shortly after eclosing, resulting in a bent wing. The next day, if I tossed her into the air, she would quickly flutter to the floor (indoor) or the ground (outdoor). I kept her inside for another day. That day, when I released her, she flew up, into a tree. I'm not sure she could fly straight. I've often wondered if I did the right thing. This video helps me feel better about having released her.
Thank you, I am in the situation to make one of those options. I leaning to keeping it alive, but taking outside to experience the outdoors. This is a hard situation.
Thank you!!! I bet this was a tough video to make, but it is necessary for those of us whom are trying to correctly raise Monarchs. I was thankful to hear all the pros and cons of the different options. WHEN (not IF) that time comes, I'll be ready to make a choice. Thank you for all the information in all of your videos. You're the one I check with first when wanting to learn more about helping raise Monarchs.
Sounds to me like you get it. Not an easy video to make, but better to have discussed it and not need it than need it and not discussed it, right?
@@MrLundScience Welp, one of my chrysalides was not looking right, so that's why I watched this video to begin with. It is as if the chrysalis didn't form all the way. However, it formed enough that there was a very thin layer over half the butterfly. If I looked close enough, I could see her breathing. (I have pictures of the chrysalis in case you're interested.) The caterpillar had only one antenna before making the chrysalis, so I don't know what happened. Anyway, the butterfly looks normal except that she has one antenna and cannot fly. I thought I would choose Option 2 only, but when she was still on the hasn't- bloomed-yet butterfly bush as it was raining and getting dark last night, I put her in a cage and made sure she drank some honey water. I suppose I'll make sure she is fed and safe for now. Then when the weather is nice in a few days, I plan on putting her back outside close to something flowering. So, I may be switching back in forth between Options 1 and 2. If after she had eclosed, she had been extremely deformed, I would have chosen Option 3. I've learned the options are on a case-by-case basis. Thank you again for your advice!
Well, what do you know!! I took One Antenna outside yesterday afternoon to get some sun, and she took off!!!
Good information I'm going with option two it makes sense to me I like your logic
As many others have said before me, thank you for this video. It has been a helpful resource for me, having raised monarchs for the first time this spring. I successfully released 58 healthy butterflies but one became stuck in its chrysalis and its wings did not have a chance to expand (it died after 1 day), and another's chrysalis fell and was damaged. That one emerged with crumpled wings and unable to fly. I fed it honey water twice a day, gave it as much outdoor time as possible, and kept it in a butterfly enclosure in my home at night. It was very strong-willed and tried its best to fly every day. I hope I gave it the best life possible but it is hard to know what's right. Sadly, it died yesterday after exactly three weeks of life. I had become used to having the little critter around :( but it was heartbreaking to see it struggle and not be able to live a natural butterfly life. Thanks again for this video, which is a great resource for anyone encountering this situation. Best wishes from Miami, Florida.
I found comfort in your comments. I too had a "strong-willed" butterfly with damaged wings. I did not want her to become fodder for the numerous Brown Anole lizards that are ubiquitous in Hawaii gardens. So I kept her in an enclosure and fed her honey water, 2-3 times a day. She lasted 4 weeks. The last day, she was too weak to extend her probocis on her own. I helped extend it and she took her last meal. I felt it was time to euthanize. I placed her on a bed of flowers and then into the freezer. I buried her in a crown flower leaf coffin yesterday. With tears running down my face, I sent her off to butterfly heaven.
Thank you so much for this video. I have a baby with deformed wings and didn't know what to do. This is so heartbreaking and I think I will leave them outside in the future and just continue to plant lots of milkweed😭😭😭😭😭
Thank you for this video. I stopped bringing my eggs in because I had one that wouldn’t fly and wouldn’t eat and after a few days I had to make a decision. So, I’m so thankful to hear your reasoning and rationales. And you handled the discussion very sensitivity. I still have a TON of milkweed and if the lizards are bad I will bring in eggs, but I’ve decided to be more hands off in my monarch support.
But right now I have one that eclosed and can’t fly. I found him flopping around in the grass. So that was what led me to your video. I like how you explained that even though he can’t fly he still has a purpose for his little life in possibly teaching the birds not to eat things that look like him! I believe there is a purpose for all things. We just don’t always have the privilege of knowing that purpose. Your explanation of “option 2” makes a lot of sense to me. Thank you again for the video.
I'm glad that you were able to consider the options and find one that you were most comfortable with. It's like having to choose the lesser of bad options for a bad situation. Your compassion for the animal is definitely appreciated!
Thank you!!! You have helped me reason out the choice for a situation just like this. All are sensible to my mind and I've selected the one that resonates most with my outlook. Many thanks!
I like the idea of putting it back into nature
Wow!! Thank you so much for this I’ve been kinda new at this whole thing ..first it was the wasps and maybe flies..attacking the caterpillars...then I had 2 fully develop and born and launched into the world ...well this morning our newest beauty not only has a much smaller wing but a front leg that seems damaged ...I’m sooo sad
Thanks for doing these videos and all the work you do. At this point not sure what I’ll do w this latest beauty
😭
I’m so sorry 😐. My first season too! Released two beauties and my next 9 may have had one cool night I didn’t bring inside! They have some black spots:(
Hi, it’s not easy, and I was so sorry to read how you both had to experience this. I have been there twice myself, and now facing this possibly for a third time, which is why I returned to this video today. But note that it is only three times in 3 seasons- (3 years and with over about 250+ healthy ones released)- that a MB emerged and ultimately was unable to fly, each w/ different circumstances, all 3 leaving me with tough decisions to make. Again all with different answers. It ultimately of course is up to you, like me, to decide. I could not have done it without Mr. R. Lund. I get it. It was so bad, and I actually wasn’t sure if I could go through the chance of having to lose one again, partially blaming myself, but uncertain, though I know that we do the best we can as long as we are constantly improving and learning about techniques wild-rearing these beauties. It’s not like we just jump into this without some good basic knowledge.I keep in mind that only 5% - maybe between 5-10% tops- of them in the wild even survive to become adult butterflies. Once in this past early spring I spotted the 1st mother Monarch Butterfly gliding among the garden’s tiny, newly sprouting Common Milkweed, and was stunned to see her stopping on each leaf and plant, carefully laying new shimmering eggs! I was very excited, and that was it, I began anew. I have kept data on the numbers of so many healthy MBs that I have released this season, but honestly I have been too busy to tally how many; I know it’s more than ever before and it kept me busy but I kept up fine, especially since I have been sequestered and focused at home these past months, which is why I decided to go for it. This this weekend I am hopefully releasing the last very 3 or 4 adult MB from the last group of close to 100. Be sure btw to see his videos about how to feed a MB that cannot fly, and the another around euthanasia. He never tells anyone what they should or should not do, but offers information to better enable others to decide what to do. This is what I think I admire most about him. OK now- I cannot answer for him, to whom I give so much credit for helping with outstanding videos and sense of compassion, but I noticed that he does sometimes try to check in and answer questions; also you may see his more recent activity by scanning through some of his other videos including the more recent one 2019 about wild-rearing MBs outdoors. You may want to follow him on his Instagram account, too. He did note in one of his UA-cam videos that he hadn’t been here as much as he would truly like to - 2020- since the pandemic of course greatly impacted him, his work at school, and his students, meaning spending lots of needed important time on that work. Best to you, stay safe, he would surely say thank you for doing what you can do, plant milkweed, and stay tuned!
I love listening to you talk, even if it is over such a not-fun topic
Oh btw, i currently have 30 chrysalis that are almost completely emerged with healthy butterflies and only 1 fell. So glad i didn't have another run in with OE this time.
Wow...thanks for that. I always feel like I'm long winded. I go into many details, though, as I want to try and be thorough, and troubleshoot questions that might come up by answering them ahead of time. I write a script or list of the points I want to bring up, and then try to think of what questions might arise because of the topic and cover that as well. So, thank you for that feedback. At times, I've thought about reducing the amount of information, but usually side against it. Try to flesh out most of the topic the first time in the video so there's less of a need for those points to be brought up in future ones.
Congrats on the 30, and on not having any OE! That's awesome!
I think you are extremely thorough and cover bases that many wouldn't even think of. I wouldn't change a thing, i think you do a great job!
That's very kind and well taken. Thank you Marissa. Truly, that's quite appreciated.
Also...do you have a pet lemur? That video is super adorable.
This video helps me to take care of Monarch butterfly chrysalis and butterflies very much. We had 6 caterpillars this spring, and we found 3 chrysalis in our backyard. One hatched and flew away. There is one which does not make any progress of darkening its color. It's been more than a week. We'll keep watching it.
I don’t raise monarch’s. I wanted to but wasn’t able to buy the materials before time was up this year.
Then I found a monarch with crumpled wings and part of his leg missing. I was in total shock, I had my young puppy with me on a leash so coaxing the monarch onto my finger while keeping a curious 3 month old puppy away was quite the task. It was actually out at an event, an I was letting my puppy potty quickly when I found the poor butterfly. I hadn’t noticed his leg yet and assumed it was newly hatched so after getting it on my finger (and it jumping off multiple times) I left it on a brick wall to pump its wings full of fluid and returned back to my family with our puppy.
I had a strong urge to check on the butterfly before we where due to head home though so I made the excuse of taking the puppy to potty again and returned to where I left the monarch. It had only been like 15-20 minutes since I left it there so when I saw it was not there I immediately began searching in the grass again where I had found it the first time. Sure enough the poor monarch had fallen again and was seemingly trying to climb back up the brick wall.
I made the decision to take it with me, Still thinking it was newly hatched and it would surely be ready to fly in a days time before the warm front left and we returned to regular cold October weather. I have no clue how this one hatched so late in the year or how it survived the cold front we just had (temps where in the 20s just days before the 70 degree day I found him in).
On the way home I determined it was male. Discovered his leg and made the connection to why he couldn’t hold on to the wall. He held onto my chest for the entire ride home and seemed pretty happy there before he didn’t try to climb away or jump off.
I’ve had him for 2 days now. He seems to feel comfortable being on my finger and still tries to flutter his wings but they are so folded he can’t barely get any lift. He seems to really only be able to hold onto a wire screen that I had leftover from replacing our screen door, I just made sure it’s not sharp for him. I tried some sticks but he seemed very uncomfortable with that.
Thanks Rich, I think I will release this little guy.❤
I was given a monarch butterfly by my botany teacher today. His name is Nemo, and he can't fly, he only has three legs, and one of them are bent and curled in a weird way. He also doesn't have any antenna. His wings are fine, but his balance is all off, he can flap around but he gets nowhere off the ground. I'm just gonna keep feeding him and see how far he goes
Certainly a respectable option considering the situation. I hope you enjoy your time with Nemo, and I hope he enjoys it as well.
Thank you, I still don't have clarity on what I am doing, but this helps me see other options.
I'm glad that this helped. If you have questions, feel free to ask.
This helped me make my decision to set a monarch that seems weak/unable to take flight free. I've tried to give her nectar, and keep her safe. She's just too weak.
Our first monarch ever came out of the chrysalis this morning and we thought she flew away but sadly found her a few hours later on the ground with warped and kinda crumpled wings... so sad! Our daughter has been checking them daily and I don't have the heart to tell her she probably will never fly. :(
So far this summer I have raised over 200 monarchs. I have been raising them for 4 years. The more I raise the more I learn. A deformed monarch emerged 2 days ago , her left side wings did not fully extend. Her pupa fell and was flat on one side....I found it a few hours later. I hung it up to give it a chance to emerge. I consider your 3 options and decided to release her on a flower the next day. I had to explain to her the three options; be an unhappy pet (that wont work for me), release or euthanize her. I chose a fourth option and explained as she sat on my hand an listened. I cut away the deformed portion of the upper wing and glued the new section over the 'stump'. If she didn't fly I would still release her. I fed her honey water( thank you for that video) and let her rest and she began testing her wings. Ten minutes later she flew a short distance in my dining room. Tomorrow I will place her on a neighbor's flower so I won't be tempted to keep checking on her. As I release my butterflies I tell each Vaya con Díos. If the transplant wasn't successful I got the wing repair practice. I used the directions from the Live Monarch Foundation video.
It's definitely clear that you did all you could for her and cared for her very much. I'm likely to be working on wing transplants either at the end of this season, or the start of the next one. I had a Monarch that I think must have been bitten by a spider. She looks completely healthy, but was on the ground and only twitching an antenna when I returned home from getting the groceries. They hadn't fully dried yet, or I would have released them. During the time of running errands, the wings dried, and something happened. Not sure 100% what, but all signs point to a spider bite. It's unfortunate, but perhaps her wings will be able to help a future Monarch that otherwise would have been flightless.
I placed her on New York Ironweed and walked away. Later I found her a short distance away still flying short distances always falling to the ground. I was hoping as she exercised her wings the flight distances would increase. I took her in and will euthanize her tonight. I tried and I am alright with euthanizing her. One positive note is that I am now comfortable with doing wing transplants in the future.
I keep the butterflies in a pop up laundry mesh bag indoors until they are released. Do you keep yours on the porch (per your videos) and that maybe how it got the spider bite? Speaking of bites, a pupa formed and a larva in J form was next to it, arched up and bit the pupa. The pupa was leaking green fluid it emerged as a butterfly. Do you ever have any pupas that leak black fluid?
Sorry to hear that it was not able to fly very far. Some have gone with Option #2 only to feel that after an experience like the one you have had, they would prefer Option #3. Again, all three of the options, I think, are respectable (or I wouldn't have put them in the video).
Black dried fluid is indeed an indicator of a puncture in the chrysalis. This is another reason I try to relocate the chrysalides once they have formed, to prevent other caterpillars from trying to taste them. The fluid is green inside, but seems to dry to black. However, some fluid can be lost, and if early on, the Monarch might be smaller than it would have been without losing the fluid, but if not too much is lost, can still emerge healthy.
Thanks for your informative videos and your personal replies to me. This is just a thought that the black drops could be liquid fras that was expelled after the fact. Most of the larvae I observed before they go into the J shape make one last 'nerdle of perd' (LOL) before succumbing to the J shape. Tomorrow I am expecting 25 butterflies to emerge.
First time raising butterflies, mines started to fly, everything looked well but after a day or so they can't fly anymore
Here is what I did, Placed it the enclosed and gave it sugar water and plants in with it. It lived 15 days. I was happy with that.
Thank you for the video. First time with a proper milkweed area in our small garden and thus any significant monarchs, and when we encountered our issue, I found your video. We are in the Northeast- VA area, so it is getting rather chilly. We have a monarch that seemed to not have problems as caterpillar or with the chrysalis, but the hatched butterfly is not flying (couple of days now). At one point it seemed to have been able to get from one patch of flowers to a tall sunflower, but it only happened a couple of times- and I found it the next day fallen off the sunflower and in a pot underneath. I even thought at first that it may be dead, but she seemed to perk up when I got her out. She ate some sugar water,, and i left her to sit in the sun for a while with some flowers and sugar water as options.
As there was no change and it was not cold but certainly chilly, I finally brought her in to see if a warm space would help for a bit. She hung on the netting upside down for a while- and throught the night. I had placed some food, but did not see her eat. Next day she was eating some of the sugar water and even tested out a raspberry, but was crawling almost sideways and somewhat limping and dragging herself around. The wings seem fine, but she leans to the side, doesn't really open them, and seems almost as if she is bottom heavy. This has now continued. She has been eating but it is getting cold- and it is towards the tail end of when they should be heading out to migrate :( We started to bring her in at night and take her out during the day, but she will not fly anywhere. Just scrambles around. Shes fallen on her back a few times now and I've had to get her up. I've taken her outside to sit on some flowers and get some air during the day but she doesn't seem to enjoy the wind- and it will blow her over sometimes. I had really hoped she may get her bearings and fly but no such luck. So I guess we are keeping her, but I really hope we didnt do anything to harm her chances. As she is our current and only monarch, her name is Elizabeth and she lives in a herb dryer. Finally got her enclosure today.
Thank you for this information. I have used all three options at different times and for me it really depends on how badly damaged they are when they emerge. I kept one for a while as it damaged a wing flying into the screen door. I tried adding Gorilla glue along the edge of the wing & was excited that it seemed ok at first, but then it tore at the place in the wing where the glue ended because it was so anxious to get outside. I kept it for a couple of weeks after that and would take it outside and place it on flowers to feed as it wasn't too thrilled about the honey water I tried to give it. I had to watch it closely though because the geckos were very aware and I had to keep shooing them away. I joked with my neighbor that I was "walking my butterfly". I wanted it to experience some sunshine and flowers in it's short little life. Eventually it did accept the honey water and I would use an eye dropper to feed it and occasionally would take it outside for a walk and sometimes brought cut flowers in for it. I had kept a monarch once before and left the honey water in a soda bottle cap so it could drink from it when it wanted to, but that one started standing in the honey water and would go back in right away if I tried taking him out of it. I realized that tiny ants were small enough to get through the mesh of the enclosure and the butterfly realized the ants could not get to him if he stood in the honey water. I had the mesh enclosure in the screened in front porch. So I didn't try that again. And was that instinct or intelligence on his part? I was impressed. This last monarch I kept inside the house in it's mesh enclosure and when I gave it honey water I would take it out of the cage to feed it with the eye dropper or sometimes I used a Qtip and soaked one end in the honey water for it to feed. Then if it happened to get any of the honey water on it I would give it a quick bath so it didn't attract ants into it's cage . I also put an ant trap in a safe secure place several feet from the cage while in the house just to make sure no ants that were able to make it into the house would bother it. I wasn't sure how often to feed it, but it lasted quite a while. It was during the "stay at home" so I had plenty of time to care for it. Because it couldn't fly, I put the cut flowers in a mason jar lid on the floor of the cage tucked into a wet paper towel so it could climb onto them easily and put the cage by the window. It would get excited when it saw me coming as it meant food and eventually lost most of the wing. I wish I had seen your video earlier as my repair may have worked better with the reinforcing cardboard and the contact cement. I have kept some of the butterflies I've euthanized over the last couple of years so I'm going to practice for the next time I have one with a damaged wing. Someone else said to put them in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to calm them down before trying to repair the wing? Also, I'm not always sure if they emerge with deformed wings if they are diseased in some way as I sometimes bring in mature caterpillars if I happen to see them. So I was glad to hear what you said about it being a learning experience as sometimes I cant bring myself to euthanize them so I have put them outside and I know they aren't going to survive long. I haven't seen a gecko actually eat one of my butterflies, but I did see a gecko launch itself 2 feet into the air and catch a moth in flight that was only slightly smaller than a monarch so I always watch the butterflies I release to make sure they fly high enough to hopefully avoid the geckos. Do geckos also learn to avoid them? Or just birds?
Very good points, thank you!!
Thank you so much for this video. I have been helping/raising and releasing monarchs for over two years, this was the first season I had a monarch emerge with a deformity to her wing, unable to fly and I live in New Hampshire. I was unsure what to do, but I allowed myself to follow my heart I released and placed her on some sedum in my garden, after I fed her honey water per your recommendation. She is free with a belly full of honey water, who knows what will happen to her, but I have peace knowing that I did all that I could to help the monarchs and keeping with as Nature intended! Thank you for ALL your videos!
Thank you for making this video. This is a conversation that I have had to deal with by myself for the past few days.
I came across a male Monarch yesterday missing his whole top right wing and has about 40% of his lower right.
I tried to come into contact with a butterfly santuary where I live for help, and they directed me to the animal department for my phone call to be ignored.
So I am at a crossroad with caring for him or releasing him back where I found him in the first place.
It is troubling because I can see his want to fly, he looks at his missing wing a lot.
I haven't come to a full conclusion yet on what to do, I believe in returning him, on the other hand, I fear that his death will come from the heat of the sun rather than an animal.
still having trouble, but the way you outline these options just gives me a perspective to work on making me feel less alone in my way of thinking.
yeah.. Thank you.
As there's no easy or ideal option, it's a topic not everyone wishes to discuss. Those tend to be the ones most worth a discussion, though. Thus, I decided to tackle it. I'm sorry that you've found yourself in this position, but I hope the video can help with whichever choice you make. Regardless of the option you go for, thank you for your compassion towards this individual, for sure.
You are welcome
As always thank you for the video. I dont feel that you needed to defend yourself so abundantly. Anyone who comments negatively either has no idea how the world works, or the scope of your work and therefore should be entirely disregarded. Clearly as a person who dedicates so much of their time and effort to the rearing of monarchs, and their habitat, as well as the education of others, has nothing but the utmost care for the creature. This is just simply a fact of life, furthermore unless theyre vegan from diet to lifestyle they really have no business commenting.
I appreciate that, Amanda. In all honesty, some of what was brought up before going into the various options was for the younger crowd. Students watch these videos sometimes, and their younger siblings too. Just wanted to make sure such things are clear. It's a sensitive topic for most at times. Thanks for the support, though!
@@MrLundScience I get it. My boys are 4&5. We had a discussion about the possibility of sick or injured cats and butterflies before we went out and looked for our first eggs last year and we had the same discussion this year too.
Very well said. Thank you!
I had a monarch unable to fly one year. Long story short, it was my mistake. 😞
I kept him as my pet butterfly and I’d take him outside every day to get nectar from flower to flower like butterflies do in the wild. He could fly short distances so whenever he’d fly I’d have to go pick him back up. I tried to make sure his life was as normal as possible. He died after 8 days as a butterfly
Thanks so much for your videos. We just had a monarch hatch yesterday on our front porch (from nature, we are not raising them but we plant milkweed for them) and it was on the ground crumpled and struggling to survive. My first thought was to let nature take its course. But after I saw it was still alive last night, my heart broke and I had to help it. Its wings are badly deformed but hes hanging in there. I fed it some sugar water and mango based on your feeding video (so helpful!) He ate but i dont think he's doing well. He's barely moving. I may choose option 2 and maybe let him be the one that teaches the birds a lesson. As heartbreaking as that sounds, I know nature has to run its course and it is what it is. Now I just need to figure out what's the best flower to place him on....
Bro! Only had to come across this situation to end up watching this video! GREAT VIDEO!!! I would've never know what to do with my Flightless Gulf Fritillary... It hatched and it felt, unfortunately I came to realize this several hours after, and its wings never made it. Disappointed, Cause I really Wanted to take some Good-HD-Pictures of it after the long wait... guess its gonna have to be at another time, and will let nature do its thing. Thanks Mr. Lund, keep up the good work!
This is my second year as a Monarch Guardian. Just yesterday I had a female fall during eclose. I did not witness it, so I'm unsure if it was due to a leg caught or what. Long story short, I managed to help her so she did fully inflate her wings, and they are 99% visually perfect and seem to be functioning as far as flapping. Yet she still can't seem to take wing. I am so very appreciative that you did make this video because you offered a practical alternative I did not find elsewhere when looking for what else I can do besides keep her for her life cycle or euthanize. I am currently a bit overwhelmed since I'm near 7 times the number I raised and released last year, so the pet option seemed daunting. I really do not want to euthanize. So thank you for this third option.
While watching this video, I did think of a fourth (and this may have been one of the "others" you mentioned but did not cover, and someone may have even suggested it below but I don't have time to read through them all to see, so apologies if someone has), which is to check with my local library and see if they wanted to schedule one of their special animal visits where I could bring her and talk to the children about Monarchs and explain some possibilities of what went wrong. We don't have year round schools here, or I'd look into that as well.
Later today, I will try feeding her honey water to see if that helps her regain the energy lost trying to right herself before I got her in position on my finger. I have read cases where even one day's worth of feeding gave them the boost they needed to fly normally. I am hoping that will be enough, but if not I will releasing her soon if the library says they can't fit it in. Even if she doesn't make it to her full potential life span outdoors, I'll have some comfort knowing she may serve as a lesson to a predator that saves another healthier Monarch later. Thank you.
Certainly finding a way to allow the Monarch to benefit the cause in some fashion is an honorable option. I suppose if you're still caring for it, though, whether you bring it to school or not, I see that as the "home care" option, if you want to call it that. Just a variance of it. I've euthanized two Monarchs before. It's sad. But still, to make "the best" of it, I thawed them, pinned, spread, and mounted them. Once preserved, these are the two that I use with my Science Olympiad students, and others, to learn a bit more about their anatomy and other details. If we can find a benefit, that always helps make it a better situation. Perhaps still not a good one, but a better one than it would be otherwise. Sorry that this happened.