Broken Wings

It’s that time of year where the butterflies are nearly everywhere you go. They are very plentiful around here. You can see all sizes and colors. They are absolutely beautiful. I like to watch them feed off my butterfly bush that was given to me years ago by my neighbor Mr. H. 

On the way home from shopping on Saturday, a beautiful Canadian Tiger Swallowtail flew into our path and we unavoidably hit it with the grill of the car. I was not aware of this. When we parked the car in the carport the butterfly fell to the ground and wobbled into the grass as his wings would sway back and forth hitting the pavement from side to side. I immediately called for Nick to come see the hurt butterfly. That’s when he admitted hitting it but did not want to tell me. He did not think the butterfly had stuck to the grill and survived the ride home. 

I did not want to touch him causing him to loose anymore flying dust but I did reach down with some water on my finger. He grabbed hold around my finger for a sip but never gained trust. When I would try to lift my hand up to get a closer look, he bounced off. It never would walk onto my hand to be carried to safety. 
The butterfly would rather sit on my shoe. As you can see, he had a broken right wing and a torn edge. 

So with it sitting on my shoe, I carefully walked out to my butterfly bush and lifted him up to a floral, sweet smelling stem to rest on. I do not know if he eventually gained flight or fell to the ground and wobbled away.

I can’t help but wonder if butterfly wings heal themselves. If not, I guess this guy is a goner .