www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Two weeks ago, my wife found a Red Admiral with a torn wing. It was unable to fly, so she brought it home hoping to repair the wing. Checking the Internet it appeared to be a much more complex job than expected & in the meantime, the torn part of wing broke off completely.

Since the, the butterfly has lived in a goldfish bowl with netting over the top. It has some sticks inside to be able to reach the "roof" where it likes to sleep upside-down. For the first few days, we were collecting "butterfly bush" flowers which it liked, but the cold weather has meant the the bushes have lost their flowers. Since then, we have been feeding a mix of honey & water which is soaked into a small sponge in a small dish. Also we feed it a half grape that's gone soft.

Assuming that we have some sun, each day we place the bowl in a sunny window, which wakes the butterfly & it starts feeding.

Is there anything else we should be feeding it?

At the end of this month, we will be taking a week's holiday. Assuming the butterfly is still going strong, will it still need to be put in the sun so that it can feed every day?

Should we put anything else in the bowl to give it some interest or colour? Does it need leaves?

Thank you.

I hope I'm not crushing your hopes because I realise you are doing this out of love and consideration for what is a beautiful and delicate creature, but I really think it would be better to put this butterfly outside.

Obviously, it cannot fly but it can climb and that is what it will do if it happens to fall off the plant you place it on.

Indoors it will feast to its heart's content, but it will not survive being kept in the house for long as it is programmed to go into semi-torpor which it clearly can't do if kept in a building with central heating.

Even if it does get through the winter, it cannot set forth to find a mate or migrate to whichever place it chooses. Red Admirals are prodigious flyers and this one will never indulge its instincts, sadly.

Thank you for your advice.

We have waited a few days for some consistent good weather & released him mid-day after feeding him most of the morning. He is in a sunny part of the garden near to several types of flower. He was doing his "leaf impression" earlier, but is now in the sun continually trying to fly. We will ensure that if he stays in that part of the garden, we will not disturb it through the winter.

That is as much as you can do.

Butterflies are too ephemeral to be kept as pets, and whilst it is understandable that people wish to protect injured creatures they find, ultimately they are only delaying the inevitable.

I hope your Red Admiral enjoys as many days as it can nectaring in sunny conditions. Who knows, it may survive into next spring, but if it does it will not be able to fly off and find a mate.

You've done all that you can.

Thank you David.