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Woman Glues New Artificial Wing For Her Butterfly So It Could Fly For The Very First Time

Losing someone close to you and dearly beloved is always an event that leaves a deep, indelible mark. Just how are you to cope and go through life without their presence?

How are you to honor their memory and ensure that their best self will change the world for the better, so that they will never be forgotten by those who are left behind?

Romy McCloskey suffered a great loss many years ago – she lost her beloved mother to cancer.

Families of cancer patients will know that trying to overcome the disease is a war that you sometimes just cannot win, and for McCloskey, this one was no exception.

Just before her mother passed away, however, McCloskey was told something she would treasure for the rest of her life – should she ever see butterflies hanging around, that is actually the spirit of her mother checking in on her and letting her know that she is doing alright in the afterlife.

Romy McCloskey / Facebook

McCloskey not only took these words to heart, after finding a few caterpillars in her yard, she decided she was going to do her best to seriously care for these butterflies in her mother’s memory.

Romy McCloskey / Facebook

Quite a lofty goal for a woman who doesn’t know how to care for these little guys any further than feeding them in a glass tank and waiting!

Romy McCloskey / Facebook

She didn’t stop at such basic care, however. McCloskey quickly learnt that there was far more to raising and releasing butterflies than just putting the caterpillars in some tanks, feeding them, and calling it a day.

Determined to get this done right, she put time and effort into reading up on how to care for these insects, and joined a community that was happy to help and encourage her efforts.

Romy McCloskey / Facebook

Although she experienced plenty of losses (as is normal when it comes to things like these – you can never ensure a 100% success rate), she also experienced some amazing successes as well.

Romy McCloskey / Facebook

One of these happens to be the story of how she helped out a butterfly that had pupated with damaged wings!

Romy McCloskey / Facebook

The art of repairing the wings of a butterfly is not something that is unknown in this community.

So when McCloskey noticed that one of her caterpillars had left its chrysalis phase with a torn and deformed right wing, it was pretty easy for her to watch some videos and follow online guides on how butterfly wings could be repaired.

Romy McCloskey / Facebook

And as it turned out, she may have been better suited for the task than the average butterfly carer – doing embroidery and working as a costume designer meant that she was more than prepared to do handle delicate tasks such as creating and attaching an artificial wing to the butterfly.

Romy McCloskey / Facebook

After snipping off the broken and deform parts of the butterfly’s wing (this did not hurt the insect in any way, like how clipping our nails doesn’t harm us), she attached the artificial wing and waited for it the glue to dry.

Romy McCloskey / Facebook

Romy McCloskey / Facebook

Romy McCloskey / Facebook

Soon, the butterfly was back in the wild, ready to tackle on the world, as is its right!

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