I don’t really know how to hold a butterfly the right way.
- What is the best/right way?
- Is there a right way?
For what purpose? It depends.
If you’re tagging or rescuing them, standard practice is the scissor hold on the leading edge of the forewings close to the thorax. Otherwise, keeping hands clear of oils and letting them step onto a finger voluntarily minimizes stress and scale loss, etc.
I don’t know about butterflies, but with ants I put out a dead insect or some sweet water so they hold still for the camera.
People often hold ants by pinching them (holding three legs ideally, if you hold just one she may panic and try to break her leg off) but there is always a risk of injuring the ant and it makes them look so unhappy in the photos.
I wanted to add that it’s probably fine to pick up queens and males by their wings. The males once out in the open are not long for this world. They can’t sting and often have tiny mandibles.. The queens will need to remove their wings anyway. So they might get away but I think there is less of a chance of injuring the ant for life in a way that matters.
Ants never molt or grow new legs once they are in their adult form. If you break an ant’s leg she will be like that for the rest of her life.
I had a queen with five legs who lived to be seven years old! (she did OK.)
I’m photographing for iNaturalist
why hold the insects at all? it doesn’t look to me like you’re helping your observations or their subjects by holding those insects.
I would definitely not hold a butterfly by the wings just to photograph for iNaturalist - it is not worth the risk to them. Surprisingly good photos can be had just by sneaking up as close as possible while snapping lots of photos, choosing a few of the best, and cropping them.
Lots of reasons. I sometimes hold them to open up the wings and reveal markings that are never shown at rest but which are needed for ID. I’ve netted things out of the air that were zipping by at high speed and taken pictures holding them when they would never have been observable as they zoomed by. I’ve found butterflies trapped indoors that needed to be captured and relocated outdoors. While I agree that picking up a butterfly that’s just sitting there on a flower in front of you is rarely useful, it’s good to have a feel for how to handle them when the need arises.
i think we’re generally aligned, but i want to remark that “when the need arises” for most people in most cases should be never. while it’s true that some scientists or conservationists or teachers or other dedicated individuals may need to handle butterflies to do important work at some point, i wouldn’t endorse developing a just-in-case skill as a valid need for most people just taking butterfly photos for iNaturalist.
if we encouraged every person who ever had a passing interest in butterflies to pick them up, even if using best practices, that wouldn’t be good for the butterflies. if a genuine need to handle them arises at some point, there will be plenty of time to learn / teach proper technique at that point.
Thanks for the clarification! I checked some of your observations. It looks to me like you’re netting them and photographing after you catch them.
A few specific tips for such a situation — in order to hold it safely, wait until its wings close together over its back. Then gently pinch all four wings together right near the body using your index and middle fingers (like a “V” sign). DON’T smush it against the back of the net; this is a very common mistake. Just use light pressure so you don’t rub off the wing scales, and avoid touching its body or legs. In some situations I’ve noticed you were catching the butterflies in wet grass; in such cases, make sure your fingers are completely dry and avoid touching them to the wet net or ground. This will spread and remove their scales like butter.
As others have mentioned, try to avoid netting them or catching them needlessly or for sport.
To address this question in relation to the post:
Many scenarios do exist where holding butterflies is needed. For the general observer, capturing many different angles of shots is far more useful than photographing a butterfly in hand if you don’t have any specific understanding of the species. Even if you know having the butterfly in hand might be needed for ID, if you aren’t willing to do the research before going out into the field about exactly why and what needs to be photographed, and what the species will be, the butterflies don’t deserve the stress of being handled.
On that note, in North America, about one-third of all butterfly species belong to families that look so identical in flight or at a distance that lepidopterists must capture them for an “in-hand” look to make a definitive identification. This includes 75% of all skipper spp.
In my state, not being able to identify a butterfly with good photos is few and far between anyway. The primary reason for me to handle them is when I’m conducting surveys with the NPS or FWC and individuals need to be tagged. The only other situation is with catching gravid individuals in order to study life stages and thus releasing the butterflies and their offspring. Without explicitly being required to, I never handle these fragile creatures, even if it would technically be ok. I recommend adopting a similar mindset.
If it’s flying, the only way to get a clear photo is to catch it and hold it
Or patiently follow it until it lands, which is how I’ve gotten some of my best butterfly photos.
Some butterflies seem to never land (like the white shapes in my yard, probably cabbage white), and when a butterfly does land, it’s usually too far away.
you were given instructions on how to properly hold a butterfly yesterday, and you marked that as the correct answer, and yet in your photos from this afternoon you’re still just holding a butterfly however you like.
folks caution against stressing out the butterflies unnecessarily, but it sounds like you’re just going to continue to do what you want to do.
if you’re not going to listen to what others have to say, what was the point of this thread?
I’m sometimes very distressed by some photos of ants. (Especially one I suspect was crushed by a person who now only wants to ID the ant to kill her and her sisters more effectively*)
But let’s keep in mind we don’t know when those photos were taken or the exact circumstances.
I hope that people who care enough about insects to learn their names will want to be gentle with these tiny creatures who have no real legal and almost no social protections from abuse. I hope they’d take joy in letting a photo subject go feeling confident that it will live the rest of its life without too much disruption.
But, also it’s fine, and sometimes needed to gas a butterfly and pin it (or you may never know the species.)
I thought about making a photo category for ants: “unhand me you brute” for photos where the ant looked very upset about the way it was being held. But I worried it might seem too critical and not be taken in the spirit intended. Which is to inspire gentleness, but not accuse or assume that others don’t care.
So, we don’t really know. And we know it can be complex.
But also consider using honey, or taking more photos, read the tips.
*as much as exterminators annoy me, those who don’t ID the insects they decide to kill are WORSE. Far worse.
Hey everyone.
Please keep in mind that we should assume good intentions on behalf of all participants. Also a reminder of the rule that citing specific behaviour of a person in order to criticize it is not allowed; please keep criticism generalized so that it is not possible to single out a target.
Considering that OP asked for advice, I’m allowing the feedback on their observations, but be generous and patient. Thank you.
I don’t think this is true in much of North America (but probably true in Mexico and the southern US). It may require a certain amount of local knowledge, but I think most butterflies can be successfully identified from field photos. It does take a bit of expertise/practice, but I can identify most butterfly photos posted on iNat for Ontario (and adjoining states/provinces). I find the most difficult ones to identify are often those that have been captured because:
- the capture process results in so much damage that the specimen is barely recognizable
- they are photographed in a net, which obscures the butterfly
- they are photographed in a jar which results in glare and distortion
- the butterfly may be held carefully, but the observer’s thumb invariably covers a key field mark
That last one is worth noting in the context of the OP. Unless you’re using forceps, holding a butterfly means you’re covering something. Depending on the species, different parts of the wing/body/antennae may be useful for identification. If you hold the butterfly one way and take a photo, chances are pretty good that you’ll be obscuring something that’s critical for proper identification. If you shift how you hold the butterfly and take multiple photos to capture everything, the butterfly will probably suffer considerable damage. There may be some experienced hands who can do this without inflicting significant damage, but I doubt I could.
I don’t even bother to photograph most of the butterflies I observe. I do use close focusing binoculars for tricky groups. If I take a photo, it’s rarely for identification purposes. I only carry a net on rare occasions when I’m collecting specimens for someone else’s research (and it’s a complete PITA).
It does take practice, and it’s possible that some people just have a knack for it. Some species are “perchers” - they’re easier to photograph than “patrollers”. Will you be able to photograph every individual? No.
All the photos on this website were captured without capturing the butterflies in question:
I think it’s just okay to hold them by the legs.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/385817230
If that’s the case, I don’t get a clear photo.
I don’t assume that just because something is for science that it is necessarily ok.
I think it is ok to hold butterflies by the legs.
Holding a butterfly by its legs is never recommended.
Their legs are highly delicate and break easily. Butterflies use their feet to taste food and sense plants. If someone ripped off your eyes and permanently closed your mouth in the name of identifying you all humans would consider that person inhumane. Even if it was an accident.
Yes, this is true. In the southern US. 75% of skippers are incredibly difficult to identify, as I mentioned.
This is not relevant for me 99% of the time. I’m either searching for rare subspecies and under-observed Florida species, which I’m specifically searching for to help document, or conducting surveys in conjunction with groups at the national park or state park wide level that asks for most species/individuals to be photographed.
This ties into what I said in my other post: if you aren’t willing to do the research before going out into the field about exactly why and what needs to be photographed, and what the species will be, the butterflies don’t deserve the stress of being handled. However, if you have done the research you likely know how to properly handle the species and photograph to get the ID features covered. This is not for everyone, but some people have to do it or we would never be able to know of countless species.
Ultimately though, you can have amazing experiences with these beautiful creatures without ever netting or stressing them out. Carefully stalking and then waiting for the right shot is one of the most rewarding experiences in all of wildlife photography. Leave handling them for extreme cases or experts — I’m not criticizing anyone in particular, just clarifying a general principle which will induce a much better experience for identifiers, yourself, and the butterflies themselves. No need to be rude to anyone or anything. 
Consider if you need to be able to identify them in the first place. If you know they are the common local species, enjoy watching them and learning their intricacies — the natural urge to know everything isn’t always worth satisfying unless you can do it for a purpose and ethically.
As a side note, purchasing some close focusing binoculars and spending extensive time observing the individuals will give a plethora of subconscious ID tips you can tap into in the field constantly. Furthermore, all those species that require difficult angles to make an ID? Watch it for enough time and it usually will be exposed for you. It flew off? Oh well, that’s unfortunate. On the bright side, you kept away from stressing a living thing and had a learning experience with a neat organism. I’ve used the Vortex Crossfire HDs on butterfly surveys for the past three years with zero complaints. They are fairly cheap and have a lifetime no questions asked warranty. If you want to upgrade or go for something more budget, check used options. In the end, always do your own research — it will also be better than what I can tell you because all I did was my own research over time. 