Releasing Butterflies

[BearMan]

Anyone ever do it instead of bird seed or bubbles?

If so...

Was it good or bad
Were they done individually by guests or other way?
If done individually were there complaints about dead butterflies(our biggest concern)
Was it beautiful??
Would you recommend it?
WHo did you get the butterflies from and what kind Monarch or something else?

 

[heart prongs]

Hi there, we were going to have the nine children (yes, 9!) in our wedding release butterflies, but we have decided against it. I've done some research and apparently it's a very cruel thing to do to the poor little things. I guess they're so shocked by the change in climate that most fall to the ground and die. Not only do I find that incredibly sad, but I can just picture all the little flower girls sobbing because of all the dead butterflies on the ground.

What a depressing post I just wrote; have a nice day anyway!!

 

[daboyzmomi]

My best friend was married 2 years ago and we did the butterfly release at her wedding. It turned out spectacular. The kids LOVED it and the pictures of everyone looking at them flying away was amazing. We had no problem with any of them dieing so that wasn't an issue to us. As long as you keep the cool for the period it tells you to, then warm them gently back up at room temperature they are usually fine. The process they use almost puts them into a hybernation state. So, here is some info. Good luck in your decision.

 

[valeria101]

I had no idea this is done at weddings! But I raise butterflies for fun (pupae or eggs come by mail

). They are very resilient 'beasts'- much more taugh than us or most pets - as long as you know what to do with them and follow some rules (as about the temperature, above). I do not know how they are usually released: the wings are not supposed to be touched. All in all, it is hard to be cruel with them and most species have very short adult lives anyway.

 

[daboyzmomi]

Hey Val!

That is really cool you raise butterflies. Neat thing to have as a hobby.

Basically the way the butterflies come are packaged in a small triangle shaped paper container with the bride and grooms names printed on the top. They are kept cool, like I said above until 1 hour before. You can actually see the triangles start to flutter before opening them. Once it is time to open, they fly right out! It is really neat and like I said the pictures were awesome!

 

[ClownFishFunk]

----------------
On 3/27/2004 1:36:37 PM daboyzmomi wrote:

Hey Val!

That is really cool you raise butterflies. Neat thing to have as a hobby.

Basically the way the butterflies come are packaged in a small triangle shaped paper container with the bride and grooms names printed on the top. They are kept cool, like I said above until 1 hour before. You can actually see the triangles start to flutter before opening them. Once it is time to open, they fly right out! It is really neat and like I said the pictures were awesome!



That sounds quite spectacular yet really bizarre at the same time! I never would have thought to keep butterflies in little triangle packages. Though I am sure it does make quite a sight!

 

[moremoremore]

I mean this in the niceast way possible...but I don't like the idea of putting living things in boxes just to have it look pretty... I have to agree that it's cruel.

 

[moremoremore]

I would release rose petals instead!

 

[glitterata]

I would wonder about the ecological consequences. Do you risk spreading butterfly diseases? Introducing species to areas where they might become pests? Having them eat something that's struggling to survive? Having them mate with local populations and introduce unwanted genes? That kind of thing. I don't know the answers, but I'd ask the questions first.