Swollen butterly cannot fly-what to do

[dancetta]

My butterfly which just "hatched" yesterday, has difficulty supporting itself by hanging on the cage and now just sits on the bottom, tilting slightly. It seems the body is swollen. I don't know if it has not expelled it's fluid (reason). Is there anything I can do?

[Keith Petrosky]

It needs to excersise it's wings, or mabye a brisk walk will make it expell the fluid. Are you able to release it outside, mabye the sun will help. I hope the wings were able to fully form.

[Jim]

Normally, the abdomen is quite swollen upon emergence and the monarch will hang upside down, tilting form side to side as it pumps that fluid ino the wings to expand them:

from http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/johnson/hort/B ... erfly2.htm

However, the first ten minutes or so after emergence is critical...if the monarch is unable to expand its wings during that period it is likely that the wings will remain crumpled. The reasons for this may be environmental, genetic or some sort of disease and unfortunately there is nothing that can be done to "fix" this.

[dancetta]

I'm happy to report that although he was slow in the beginning, after a couple of days inside due to rainy weather and with wobbly practice flights, this male along with another male and two females were released today at a nursery where I originally found them.

[Keith Petrosky]

Great to hear they made it.