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Live Butterfly Release!

mrsarmbrustermrsarmbruster member
10 Comments
in Washington-Seattle
Has anyone ever done this? I would love to do it, but am afraid of the butterflies being dead when they get to me in the mail.........
also wish there was some way to get those tiny white butterflies, I've only found monarch butterflies for sale online....
Thanks!
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Re: Live Butterfly Release!

  • dizzineadizzinea
    1000 Comments
    edited December 2011
    i wouldn't do this, I went to a wedding that did, and alot of the butterfly's were dead, it just doesn't seem very humane to me.
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  • dreamwindsdreamwinds member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011

    This seems like a really cute idea, but in practice it's pretty cruel.

    The butterflies are 'frozen' after they are bred and kept in that sort of sleep-state until they should be used. They are then unfrozen and woken up X amount of hours prior to the event. Half of these butterflies will likely not wake fully and will not fly while the other half will be released into an environment not of their making, choosing, or what they are used to.

    People say the act of freeing butterflies is a humane thing, but really, it's not. I don't have the numbers on hand, but I'd say a good 95% of the butterflies you release will die within a few hours.

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  • amandaswamandasw member
    500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    ditto pp, this is a terrible idea.
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  • carrieoz_76carrieoz_76 member
    2500 Comments Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    Yea, I thought about this, but learned about what it involves (freezing the butterflies, them dying sooner than they should), and decided I didn't want something symbolic like this at my wedding to actually cause a bunch of butterflies to die.  Kindof says the wrong thing, kwim?

    You can incorporate really pretty silk or paper butterflies into your wedding in other ways.  On etsy there are lots of vendors selling silk or paper butterflies that you can put on your tables, use as placecards, or even decorate your cake with.  You don't need real butterflies to have the look of them at your wedding.
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  • KatiScarletKatiScarlet member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    My friend did this at her wedding.  She and her FI each had a box.  His flew out, hers were dead.  It was not only anticlimactic but she felt it was a bit of an omen.  And it turned out that it was since the marraige lasted about 4 years. I would skip it if I were you.  Never count on Nature to do what you want, when you want.
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  • hazenraisin08hazenraisin08 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I helped a friend of mine with this at her wedding because she "just had to have them" . Everyone who entered the ceremony got there own pre-packaged butterfly to release at the end of the ceremony. Fortunately, my mom and I noticed that while some of the butterflies had gotten warm enough and were starting to flit in their paper packages....most of them were still sluggish or not awake at all!! We covertly started collecting everyones butterflies so the bride wouldn't notice and stood in the back of the ceremony breathing warm air on them in our hands. It worked! But by the time the I do's were said, needless to say we felt like we were about to pass out. I would pass (pun intended) on this idea, and let your family and friends save their breath for the toasts! =)
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