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Queen Butterfly ( Male )

Danaus gilippus

Photo by maplemoth662
Published on Project Noah
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28.0587, -81.4945

Field Notes

Description:

I was looking through the right front window, which is at the front of my house, and I spotted a butterfly lying on the ground, about six feet from my front door. I went outside, and I saw that this butterfly, was injured. This butterfly, had injuries to its wings, and was unable to fly. I also saw, that there were ants, trying to over come this butterfly. I quickly picked up this butterfly, and I brought it inside my house with me. The first thing that I did, was to remove the ants, that was attached to this butterfly. After removing the ants from this butterfly, I will now feed it, and of course, I will take care of it. This injured butterfly, now has a safe home to live In. Inside one of my terrariums. This butterfly, is a Queen Butterfly. This butterfly is very tame, since it is unable to fly. I have more photos, showing the injuries to its wings.

Habitat:

The Queen Butterfly, is found throughout the tropics, and into the temperate regions of the Americas, Asia, and Africa. It can be found in meadows, fields, marshes, deserts, and at the edges of forests. In the southern U.S., the Queen prefers open woodlands, fields, and deserts.

Notes:

I spotted this injured butterfly, lying on the ground, about six feet from my front door. This butterfly, was unable to fly, because of injuries to its wings.

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (12)
SukanyaDatta
Good rescue work,maplemoth662. It is a gorgeous butterfly.
DanielePralong
You're welcome maplemoth. I agree with Christine's comment and recommendation. This is an interesting spotting in terms of documenting what can go wrong during emergence.
maplemoth662
No, this beautiful butterfly, can't fly at all....The only injuries that is see, is to its wings. When this butterfly is resting, not moving, its wings are all crumpled up....Thank you for your help, and for your advice....
Christine Y.
If it can't drink nectar or drink from fruit, you could try soaking cotton balls with a solution of 2 parts honey and 8 parts water.
Christine Y.
Poor butterfly! It looks like it has deformed wings. Unfortunately, once the wings are dry (after emergence), they become set and nothing can be done to fix them. Can it fly at all? Does it seem injured in any other way? Well, even if it can't have a normal life, at least you've given it a safe for the rest of its life :).
Photographed
PublishedOctober 17, 2017

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