Tweezers and talcum powder: butterfly wing transplants take flight in New Zealand
by Eleanor Ainge Roy in Dunedin from on (#3P39C)
Insect lovers are going to extraordinary lengths to give injured butterflies an extra few weeks of life
New Zealand's love affair with the monarch butterfly has reached bizarre new heights, with some devotees performing wing transplants on the insects to give them a few extra weeks of life.
Although the butterflies are not classified as threatened or endangered, some lepidopterists have carried out the unusual surgery using techniques picked up from YouTube.
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