Overview

• An injured monarch was brought to Sweetbriar Nature Center in Smithtown, where director of wildlife rehabilitation Janine Bendicksen performed the repair.
• Staff matched a wing from a deceased monarch and attached it using contact cement, corn starch and a small wire after briefly refrigerating the butterfly to keep it still.
• After the procedure, the butterfly was released and flew off, and video of the transplant has been widely shared online.
• Sweetbriar has described the effort as unprecedented and says it is receiving inquiries from other regions, though independent confirmation of that claim and long‑term outcomes are unknown.
• Coverage places the rescue in the context of monarchs’ long migrations and significant population declines reported by organizations such as the USDA and the IUCN.