from Hacker News

Injured monarch butterfly able to fly again after wing transplant

by impish9208 on 10/10/25, 12:26 AM with 5 comments

  • by slwvx on 10/10/25, 12:58 AM

    Love it! I like a world in which we injured butterflies are helped.

    Seems like lotsa other things we should do, like not injuring other animals and people, but I guess one should accept small wins

  • by autumnstwilight on 10/10/25, 1:55 AM

    Literally supergluing a dead butterfly's wing in place of the damaged wing wasn't quite what I expected but I guess it works.

    Wonder if the dead wing will hold up for the lifespan of the butterfly without deteriorating? A living wing would have circulation. Then again even living butterfly wings don't heal from damage so it might not make much difference.

  • by leakycap on 10/10/25, 4:08 AM

    Anyone watch the video? They don't show it flying upon release, it looks like it's free-falling to the grass when the video cuts off.

    I'm not a butterfly-ologist, but I don't think you can just glue a wing back on and provide a good QOL. This seems inhumane.

  • by rolph on 10/10/25, 1:31 AM

    thats only the POC, next is fitting with surveillance tech.

  • by leakycap on 10/10/25, 4:11 AM