Home » Wildlife » Gulf Fritillary Rescue

Gulf Fritillary Rescue

I may have saved this gulf fritillary butterfly this morning. It was newly emerged from its chrysalis, but had fallen on the ground before its wings had hardened. After emerging from their chrysalis, butterflies have soft, wrinkled wings. They typically suspend themselves while they pump fluid into their wings to expand them. Then the wings harden. This butterfly had already expanded its wings, but they were still soft like cloth. If it was not returned to a hanging perch, the wings would have hardened into a folded/deformed shape and it would not be able to fly. There are spots of fluid on the wings, which may mean that some of the veins broke when the butterfly fell. I’m not sure if the butterfly will be able to recover, or if the existing damage is too severe.

The caterpillar of this species feeds on passionfruit vines, and nearby there was a dead passionfruit vine. Presumably the vine died/was killed after the caterpillar had pupated and perhaps this is why the butterfly ended up on the ground before its wings had hardened.

DSC_1038

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *