Perchance to Hold a Butterfly

I raise butterflies so children can experience the sheer joy of holding them and observing them up-close.

Monarch on Girl's Hand — A **Monarch** (*Danaus plexippus*) butterfly perches on the hand of this delighted young lady who also sports a colorful butterfly T-shirt on her field trip to the butterfly farm.

Painted Lady butterflies in children's hands — **Painted Lady** (*Vanessa cardui*) butterflies in the hands of budding lepidopterists. This is the species you can raise with **Butterfly Lady’s** famous **Painted Lady Butterfly Caterpillar Rearing Kit**. **Click Here** or on the photo for complete details.

Many people believe the old wives’ tale that if you touch a butterfly’s wings and it loses some scales, it will die. Not so.

The truth is that butterfly wings are covered with hundreds of thousands, even millions in larger species, of tiny scales that overlap one another like shingles on a roof.

These scales protect and strengthen the translucent wing membranes and help provide lift.

Morpho Wings — Close-up wing view (left) of this stunning **Morpho** (Morpho spp.) butterfly (right).

Magnified Morpho Wing — Same photo (from above left) of a **Morpho** butterfly wing magnified to show details.

Magnified Monarch Wing — Exquisite, cushiony patterns of orange, black and white scales on the wing of a **Monarch** butterfly. At this magnification, it appears to be a fine handiwork of needlepoint.

Drastic loss of scales will change the aerodynamics of the wing, making flight more strenuous and slow, but a butterfly can fly with most of its scales missing. In fact, butterflies are so resilient that they can still fly after losing parts of their wings.

Worn Wings of a Tiger Swallowtail — Amazingly, this **Eastern Tiger Swallowtail** (*Papilio glaucus*) butterfly can still navigate the skies with substantial parts of its wings missing. It’s nectaring on faded blossoms of **Common Milkweed** (*Asclepias syriaca*).

Slipperiness and easy detachment of butterfly scales help butterflies escape predators. Wear and tear is natural over an adult’s lifetime and a few scales are lost each time a butterfly flies. Severe weather, brushes with plants and spider webs all take their toll.

Worn Wings Julia — This tattered **Julia** (*Dryas iulia*) can also still fly. As bits and pieces of its wings fall off or are bitten off by birds, lizards and other predators, it quickly adjusts its motor skills to compensate for weight and balance.

The longer a butterfly lives, the more likely its wings will be damaged. Scales form the colors and patterns butterflies need for mate selection, camouflage, predator avoidance and thermoregulation.

Zebra Longwing Worn wings — Yes, this **Zebra Longwing** (*Heliconius charithonia*) butterfly is still airworthy, but doesn’t have too many more miles in it.

Although a butterfly will not die if you touch its wings, if too many scales are rubbed off, these benefits are diminished. So, handle them with care.

Morph scales — Hundreds of butterfly scales ended up on my finger after handling a **Morpho** butterfly. Not to worry. There are millions more scales on its wings. They remind me of nature’s “pixie dust,” magically facilitating butterfly flight.

For a demonstration of how to properly pick up and hold a butterfly, I turn to John – a professional butterfly farmer in the Southeast.

So if you ever get the chance to hold a butterfly, it’s all good. Just be gentle, do it the right way, and treasure the joy.