SAN ANGELO, Texas — Monarch butterflies will be making their way through the Lone Star state as they migrate north to Canada, but if you see one of these creatures is it okay to touch them? We set out to verify if touching a butterfly’s wing can kill it?
“Excessive handling is not good for butterflies, it’s not great to touch them; but a lot of time you can gently catch them in your hands and they will fly away and be just fine,” Tom Green County Horticulturist Allison Watkins said.
You may look but it’s not best to touch, but will touching it's wings end its life?
"Especially rubbing on their wings can damage their wings and make it where they can’t fly and if they can’t fly they can’t escape predators and they can’t get food and that’s not good."
So, we can verify that touching a monarch butterfly's wings will not kill it immediately, but Watkins said touching their wings can make the insect weaker, which makes their journey up north to warmer weather more difficult.
If you want to see a butterfly up close or in your backyard, Watkins said your best bet is adding plants in your garden that attract them and watching from afar.
“If you want to help do something for the monarch plant some milkweed in your landscape or your property and go for a native milkweed and you can find it for sale pretty easily,” Watkins said.