www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

so far we have 4 helthy ones and one not helthy due to its wing and the rest are still in cristlists

I hate tragedies.

Maybe it can nectar, even if it can't fly. My advice would be to try to give it as much pleasure as possible, if it can take pleasure, and then to put it to sleep gently. A non-violent way of putting a butterfly to sleep is to put it in a dark container in the fridge, when it will go torpid, and later transfering it in the same container to the freezer, where it will die without waking up.

Guy

EDIT: I posted this before you posted the pictures. See if she (for she is a girl) can enjoy a last (and first) supper. Sadly, she has no future.

yeah i thought we may need to put her out her missery. we dont blame ourself as no one has messed with them or anything so just one of them sad thing the butterfly was cleay not ment to live and in the wild would have died with it ling still traped hanging upside down

Yes, sadly that butterfly has no future really, but reassure yourself that had you not taken those caterpillars the likelihood is that it would have been predated before it even got to this stage.

Clearly, it will never fly so cannot be released, so Guy is probably right - give it a good feed (warm water mixed with sugar on a bit of cotton wool would be well received), then do what Guy suggested.

Very sad, but this is the way of things in nature, only in most cases far more brutal.

I saw a Small Tortoiseshell today with both rear wings that looked a little like that. It could still fly, however. I am sure that there must be a high percentage that perish in the wild like that.

so taday there is 9! helthy butterflys and one with the damiged wing

and tehre still more to come out i think dh got more than 12 oops

well in the end there was 12 helthy butterflys ! ready to go and 6 still in there crislits i think so here some photo of them being set free good luck to my 12 little guys who are now free

Heartening stuff, feralkitten.

Hopefully these butterflies will give pleasure to many over the next few weeks. I suspect that had you not reared them yourself, there'd only be 2 or 3 that would have made it to adulthood.

Thanks for sharing and I'm sure your kids have had a fascinating few days to boot!

Just a few short weeks since we were wondering what sort the caterpillars were! Now, it's the Small Tortoiseshell diaries.

Thank you for letting us share this experience with you and your family

Mike

not finshed yet i still have siz more to come out lol

what was great was when we went to let them go there was 6 kids from where we live where right over looking in tank all exsited to see them go all of they 6 kids + are 4 where really good a no one tryed to hurt them or run after them to catch them so in a way i got other kids into them lol

well that the last 6 butterfly drying there wings i'm a little sad as i thought i have a few days untill they were ready.

Don't be sad - you've done a great job and it has been so interesting to see your updates. I haven't seen a Small Tort in the wild for 2 years now . Good that the kids are interested too.

well there not loads of thm in kirkcaldy in scotland lol
i will let go my last 6 tomorrow