The Atlas Spinner – which, with its 25 centimeter wingspan, is one of the world’s largest butterflies – caused quite a stir after it was found by passers-by on a house wall in Stockholm’s Old Town over the weekend.
The question of how the butterfly – which usually has its home in Southeast Asia – ended up in Sweden seemed puzzling to say the least. But after the find became public, a regretful person has now handed in a box of pupae to the Butterfly House in Stockholm, according to Mikael Odell, who is CEO of the nature museum.
— A relative of a person I call the “butterfly man” contacted us and told us that the couple had the pupae in their home. The person also told us that they were very remorseful – and a third person, who wishes to remain anonymous, has now handed over a box of ten pupae to us, he says.
Forbidden to smuggle in
After surprised passers-by found the exotic spinner on the wall of a house in the Old Town, the butterfly was also first transported to the Butterfly House in the belief that a visitor had smuggled out a specimen, which, however, turned out not to be the case. Already a month ago, another copy of the butterfly was sighted in the same neighborhood.
Exactly how the pupae ended up in Sweden is still a mystery, but Mikael Odell emphasizes that it is forbidden to smuggle animals in.
— According to the legislation, this is “jabaja”. You must have both a permit and approved reasons for bringing animals into the country. I myself have previously been involved in all sorts of seizures of reptiles and the like – but never of someone smuggling in insects.
“Happy ending – for some”
The majority of the pupae submitted to the Butterfly House are pre-dried, but for some of the specimens it looks brighter, according to Mikael Odell.
— These are sensitive creatures that need an extremely high level of humidity in order not to dry out, but the important thing now is that the pupae stay with us under orderly conditions. And for four of the ten pupae that have been handed in, it looks like there will be a happy ending in any case, he says.