There’s a viral social media challenge prevalent in South America where young people inject themselves with dead butterflies. This odd trend wound up proving fatal for a 14-year-old boy, who passed away after spending a week in a local hospital.
We are still somewhat unaware of a butterfly’s chemical makeup. Some believe that the toxins found in these bugs aren’t safe for humans, which is why Davi Nunes Moreira suffered a traumatic reaction.
The Daily Mail explains that the boy mixed a dead butterfly with water and used a syringe that was later discovered in his room to inject the concoction into his leg. Why this is even a viral challenge is beyond me, but the child noticed himself feeling ill not too long after. It progressively got worse. Symptoms included vomiting and losing the ability to walk.
14-Year-Old Boy Dead After Injecting Himself With Dead Butterfly for Online Challenge
The New York Post shared a quote from a doctor at the hospital he was admitted to, who suggested that he may have suffered from a blockage to a vessel known as an embolism. Doctors don’t know what was in the mixture or the size of it, making it difficult to determine the cause of death until a further autopsy. An allergic reaction could also be at play.
Most butterflies are harmless, but something like the Monarch Butterfly is known to have high toxic levels due to their diet consisting of milkweed. Even then, scientists typically state that Monarchs are not a threat to humans. That being said, it’s unlikely they’ve ever looked at what injecting a dead butterfly mix into your bloodstream would look like for humans until this unfortunate incident.
The suspected social media challenge that cost the life of Moreira began on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. The origins of the particular trend never had anything to do with injecting butterflies into your body. Authorities mentioned there may be a connection, but if so, it strayed off of the main course of action these “challengers” take.
These posts feature users drawing butterfly-shaped designs on their bodies as a means of creative expression.
