Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0012625, Mon, 24 Apr 2006 23:50:23 -0400

Subject
Re: butterflies on 4/23
From
Date
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> Stephen Blackwell's post reminds me that the recent sight of a
> butterfly's darting movements made me wonder if anyone has studied the

> flight pattern of the insect. Why does it move the way it does? Is
> there a method to its seeming madness?
>
> Carolyn Kunin

Carolyn,

It's thought to be adaptive behavior. Movement in a random
(unpredictable) manner is supposed to help the insect avoid predation.

Victoria Alexander

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