Romy McCloskey is a master hand embroider and professional costume designer who found her niche in raising butterflies when she stumbled across three caterpillars on a bush in her front yard.

“I have always had a love for butterflies,” she said, according to Bored Panda. “They have a very personal meaning to me. Before my mother died, almost 20 years ago, she said to me, ‘Romy, whenever you see a butterfly, know that I’m there with you, and that I love you.’”

Monarch butterflies typically have a lifespan of two weeks to about five months, but one of her butterflies faced the risk of living even shorter than that when he was born with torn upper and lower wings.

Wanting desperately to do something, Romy went into surgeon mode and decided perform a wing transplant.

As mentioned on Bored Panda, “her supplies included a towel, a wire hanger, contact cement, a toothpick, a cotton swab, scissors, tweezers, talc powder, and an extra butterfly wing from one of her little girls that died a few days before.”

Fortunately, a butterfly’s wings are similar to a human’s hair and nails. “They do not have pain receptors,” so the little critter did not need any drug to get him through the procedure.

Pictures on the surgery are below!

 

 

“Securing the butterfly and ” Don’t worry it doesn’t hurt them. It’s like cutting hair or trimming fingernails.”

“Ta-da! With a little patience and a steady hand, I fit the new wings to my little guy.”

“The black lines do not match completely and it is missing the black dot (male marking) on the lower right wing, but with luck, he will fly.”

“With a quick lap around the yard and a little rest on a bush, he was off! A successful surgery and outcome! Bye, little buddy! Good luck.”

So happy to see that everything went well in this butterfly’s life after all. Way to go, Romy! Thank you for your compassion and dedication.