[Jazz]

Released my last 3 butterflies this morning after having them confined inside for the last 7 days due to non stop rain. They all flew off quite happily.

I have one left that hatched about six weeks ago but it can only fly a short distance then ends up on the ground. I have been feeding it every couple of days and it’s wings look perfect but they never close up even when it’s doing nothing.

My question is – is it ok just to keep it inside until it dies or should I put it in the freezer. It seems quite happy and feeds on my hand ok. How long would I expect it to live if I keep it inside.

[Jacqui]

Hello Jazz

They say 6-8 weeks after they’ve finished doing what they’re here to do – which is mate and egglaying – and yours won’t be doing that, so it’s hard to advise, Jazz.

There was a bit of discussion a couple of years ago with a few people keeping deformed butterflies as “pets”, so if you search on Swansong’s posts (use the search engine) you might find some of the discussion – I recall Swansong was a major contributor.

Hope that helps.

Jacqui

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