Injured monarch butterfly able to fly again after wing transplant

SMITHTOWN, New York (WABC) -- A nature preserve in Nassau County performed a miraculous operation that gave an injured butterfly a second chance at life.

Workers at the Sweetbriar Nature Center in Smithtown recently performed a wing transplant on the injured monarch butterfly.

The center says they received a call about the battered bug and immediately jumped into action. Workers say they used a wing from a deceased butterfly to do the repair.

Monarchs are the only butterfly that migrate for thousands of miles every years, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Experts say the monarch population has declined significantly in recent years because its food source, milkweed, has been nearly destroyed by herbicides. Several charities offer low-cost milkweed seeds to U.S. residents in an attempt to save the colorful specifies.

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