Most people choose to place the butterfly into an envelope or container and into the freezer. The butterfly normally dies within 10 or 15 minutes. It lowers the body temperature and, basically, the butterfly simply 'goes to sleep'.
Place the butterfly in the refrigerator.
While this step may seem cruel, it can calm the butterfly enough so that you can work on it. You're not trying to kill the butterfly. You're just trying to sedate it a bit.
Butterflies feel no pain but if you think it can't survive, a gentle way to send it on the ”Butterfly Heaven” is to place it in a small sandwich bag in your freezer. The butterfly will simply fall asleep and then pass on.
In order to escape her cocoon, she must struggle to free her body with its brand new wings from its safe place of sleep. The struggle is at times so intense that the butterfly may seem near death, but it is critical at this point that no one comes to rescue her. She needs to do it by herself.
Q: When should I release my butterflies? A: Release your butterflies as soon as possible after hatching. They can live for up to two weeks in your cage, but we recommend that you release them on the first nice day that comes along.
For a butterfly that seems weak or hungry, you can rescue it by helping it eat. Mix up some sugar water and set out a sponge soaked in it. Gently take the butterfly's wings between your thumb and forefinger, using utmost care not to pinch too hard. Set the butterfly on the sponge.
While I've written stories about Monarch butterflies before, and I'm sure you've read or watched something about their amazing migration to Mexico, this story will touch on a much darker aspect of their lives: their uncontrollable aggression.
While touching a butterfly's wings may not kill it immediately, it could potentially speed up the fading of the colors on the butterfly's wings, wiping out patterns that are used to protect the butterfly from predators. Touching the butterfly's wings could potentially result in a shorter than expected life.
Butterflies don't bite because they can't. Caterpillars munch on leaves and eat voraciously with their chewing mouthparts, and some of them do bite if they feel threatened. But once they become butterflies, they only have a long, curled proboscis, which is like a soft drinking straw—their jaws are gone.
If you touch a butterfly gently, it will lose some scales, but rarely enough to prevent it from flying. A butterfly wing is made of a thin membrane webbed with veins. Colorful scales cover the membrane, overlapping like roof shingles. These scales strengthen and stabilize the wings.
Carefully catch the butterfly and place it in a cardboard box, then leave it somewhere cool for a half an hour or so, giving it chance to settle down. Then you can relocate it somewhere cooler - the inside of a shed, garage or outhouse is perfect.
The wing will never “heal”, unlike when you set a broken bone. If you find a butterfly with a piece of wing hanging loose, you can pull off that piece of wing and let the butterfly go. Otherwise, it's best to leave it be and let nature take its course.
A butterfly indicator is a subtle way to alert staff prior to entering a resident's room that a death has occurred. It is an immediate action that can provides notification to staff in the event of a death as not all departments can be informed at the time.
While it is important to be extremely gentle when petting a butterfly, the consequences are rarely so dramatic. The dust you may see on your finger after touching a lepidopteran wing is actually made up of tiny wing scales (modified hairs). If too many scales are rubbed away, the wing is more likely to tear or fail.
RELAXING: The most common way that dried specimens can be relaxed is by placing them in an airtight humid chamber, such as a Tupperware container, for 24 hours to a few days. Cover the bottom of your container with a lightly, damp paper towel and add a few drops of Phenol or Ethyl Acetate to prevent mold.
In summary, unlike humans, butterflies cannot remember personal experiences (if any) from their time as a caterpillar. Their memory is strictly biological, allowing them to recall things that endanger their well-being—like an electric shock!
They are social animals & crave companionship, & so bond easily with humans. Insects operate largely on instinctual behaviour. Survival instincts like flight from shadows & sudden movement are hard-wired & inherited. Any insect which does not respond to perceived threats will be eliminated & not pass on its genes.
Now they are adults, and wings open up a world of possibilities. They compete and flirt, dancing in the air, circling skyward in a butterfly ballet. When they do mate, they join at the abdomen, facing away from each other. How long they stay together varies widely from couple to couple.
Many butterflies are also attracted to human skin and suck sweat or blood from cuts with their proboscis. They love wet, sweaty socks and shoes, and absolutely adore the stuff that seeps out latrines.
Monarch butterfly migration
Of course butterflies don't scream (at least at a frequency that humans can hear!).
“Excessive handling is not good for butterflies, it's not great to touch them; but a lot of time you can gently catch them in your hands and they will fly away and be just fine,” Tom Green County Horticulturist Allison Watkins said.
A Quiescent State
For butterflies, this means resting with their eyes open hidden in leaves, bushes or barks. They may often use their tarsi to hang upside down underneath leaves. They sleep under leaves to hide from predators.
Fruit juice, 15% honey water, 15% sugar water, or Gatorade are the easiest for us. If we use Gatorade, we often simply fill the Gatorade bottle lid with Gatorade. A small cup or votive candle holder can be filled with marbles and juice. A paper towel that is soaked in the liquid and placed on a saucer works great.