Joe Kahlo
Romy McCloskey is a skilled costume designer and embroiderer who is familiar with performing intricate needlework.
She recently used her skills to save the life of an injured Monarch butterfly who had part of its wing broken off.
McCloskey raises butterflies in her yard, “I knew that they were being threatened by mankind.”
“I knew that we needed to help our pollinators for the survival of us all, but I didn’t know just how much these little guys have stacked against them until I got involved in helping them.
“So, my garden grew, my knowledge grew, and my heart grew, more than I could ever imagine.”
Unfortunately, her cat doesn’t share her ideals and knocked over one of the cocoons while playing with it like a toy.
“It had a crack in the cocoon, I thought, ‘Please don’t let it die.'”
The injury it sustained was while pupating, which is the final stage of development before an adult butterfly emerges from its cocoon.
The butterfly was unable to fly as it relies on the symmetry of its wings to help them get in the air.
Thankfully though, McCloskey was up to the task of fixing it, after watching a video her friend sent her, she was ready.
“I figured, since I do so much designing, cutting, and putting together of costumes… I could give this a go.”
The operation looked like it was a success, the wing seemed like it was put on well, but she needed to wait to see if it worked.
She put the butterfly in a cage with some food so it could spend the night recovering, hopefully.
“I woke up the next morning and said, ‘Please be alive,'” she saw the butterfly was moving so she took it out in the hope it can fly away.
“He climbed on my finger, checked out the surroundings, and then took off,” she said. “He landed on some bushes, and sure enough, when I went to reach for him, he flew up in the direction of the sun.”
Check out the full video of the operation below:
What amazing work! This is especially important since the Monarch butterfly’s population is decreasing.
