Occasionally, someone brings us a different kind of animal -- something unusual, rare, or not native to our area. We've cared for mountain lions, mule deer, caimans, exotic snakes and turtles. Last summer, one of our members, Sharon Scharff, brought in a monarch butterfly. It weighed in at less than 1 gram. Because it flew (dropped) to the floor' in a circular pattern, we guessed that perhaps it had a head injury.

We called Newton King of King Pharmacy, and requested a simple sugar solution with an anti-inflammatory drug called dexamethasone. Mr. King, who specializes in compound prescriptions, kindly filled the butterfly's prescription.

The butterfly was put in an insect cage on supplemental heat, and the medication was put in a shallow lid for the monarch to drink. Butterflies have very long tongues that they keep rolled up when not in use. When feeding, the butterfly unrolls the tongue and uses it much like we would use a straw. Within a week, the butterfly was able to fly in a normal butterfly pattern. It was released in our water garden and songbird habitat to continue it's life in the wild.