Imgur user dressgirl200 recently shared an amazing story of how she was able to give an injured monarch butterfly a wing transplant and restore the little guy’s ability to fly. You can find the step-by-step process and captions from the original post below.

[via dressgirl200 on Imgur]

 

 

The patient~ this 3 day old little boy was born with torn upper and lower wings. Let’s see how we can help! [source]

 

 

The operating room and supplies: towel, wire hanger, contact cement, toothpick, cotton swab, scissors, tweezers, talc powder, extra butterfly wing. ( One of my little girls died a few days before and I kept her.) [source]

 

 

Securing the butterfly and cutting the damaged parts away. Don’t worry it doesn’t hurt them. It’s like cutting hair or trimming fingernails 🙂 [source]

 

 

Ta-da! With a little patience, and a steady hand, I fit the new wings to my little guy. If you notice, 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! ( The white powder on his right wing is the talc used to neutralize any stray glue and prevent his wings from sticking together.) [source]

 

 

FLIGHT DAY! After a day of rest and filling his belly with homemade necter, it is time to see if he will fly~ [source]

 

 

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 ❤️ [source]