The butterfly was cared for at the Sweetbriar Nature Center in Smithtown, Long Island. Image: Sweetbriar Nature Center

A migrating monarch butterfly ( Danaus plexippus ) recently brought into Sweetbriar Nature Center in Smithtown on New York’s Long Island came with a unique backstory. The male butterfly flew into a nearby house and landed on a pot of refried beans . The man living there took the butterfly out of the pan, but by morning the butterfly still could not fly. There was only one thing left to do for the injured insect —bring him to the professionals.

“Butterflies are incredibly delicate, and even handling them can cause additional damage or leave them unable to fly,” Janine Bendicksen , Sweetbriar Nature Center’s Director of Wildlife Rehabilitation, tells Popular Science . “That makes butterfly rehabilitation especially challenging—we have to be extremely careful with every step.”

The team got to work on fixing this unusual patient.…