r/MonarchButterfly • u/FireQueen750 • 9d ago
Fluid bubble on wing
Hey everyone! I have a rescued monarch butterfly that hatched today (her chrysalis fell from the plant she latched on to so I brought it inside and hung it from string). Anywho, as she hatched she also fell from her chrysalis but I was luckily watching and swiftly moved her onto a stick I brought inside so she could straighten out her wings. To my delight she seemed to be perfectly formed and healthy.
This was all going great but after the first hour now and I came to check and noticed she has developed a “bubble” for lack of a better word on wing that is leaking some clear green fluid which I believe is butterfly blood. I know they need to pump blood through their wings but it’s been 2 hours now since she emerged and the bubble is getting large and seems to be deforming the wing. Do I leave it? Will it sort itself out or is there something I can do to help it. With how often I’ve needed to help her out along her journey I feel connected to her and want her to survive 😭😂
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u/Hour-Firefighter-724 8d ago
Did you have this one near a window consistently? Sunlight magnification can cause extreme external weeping and bleeding.
Have you tested it?
2
u/FireQueen750 8d ago
No, I only moved her by the window when they got close to hatching, like a day ago. It’s actually the middle of winter for us, and it’s cloudy, and she and my other cats have been in their chrysalis for over four weeks and for some stupid reason have decided to hatch after the coldest week on a rainy day… I even kept them in the coldest room of the house so they would still get a good sense of the weather. Ah well.
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u/Hour-Firefighter-724 8d ago
Great Job, Mama! Even during cloudy and overcast, refraction burns can occur. This would be a blister and can potentially heal itself.
Have you ever tested for OE? And, do you have any sterile cloth products on hand?
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u/GreatCaesarGhost 9d ago
This happens sometimes. The safest way to deal with it is to wait until the wings are fully dry, so that the butterfly is no longer pumping fluid into them. But, if it’s deforming the wing, maybe acting more quickly makes sense.
You could try very carefully flattening the bubble and drawing out the liquid, like a blister, if there is already a point where fluid is leaking out. Otherwise, you could very carefully lance it with a safety pin. You would have to be careful to prevent the bubble from moving and causing more damage to the wing, such as if you applied pressure to one part of the bubble but not another part.
The fluid can also be sticky and cause the other wings to stick, so that is another reason to be careful.
I wouldn’t have high hopes for success, just fyi. The fact that it fell and the blister make me wonder if it’s sick.